


Housemates

by Pixie Unger (Pixel_Runner)



Category: Gargoyles - Fandom, Orcs - Fandom, Original Work, drider - Fandom, mimics - Fandom, minotaurs - Fandom, slime - Fandom, werewolves - Fandom
Genre: Exophilia, Fingering, Gargoyle, Mimic, Minotaur - Freeform, Monsters, Multi, Orc, Polyamory, Slime, Terato, Vaginal Sex, Werewolf, drider, face riding, gelatinous
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2019-10-08 13:50:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 52,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17387516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixel_Runner/pseuds/Pixie%20Unger
Summary: Seven batchelor monsters need some one to help take care of their house.WANTED:Housekeeper wanted for a species diverse household.  Duties include planning, shopping for, preparing and cleaning up after the evening meal as well as light housekeeping in common areas only.  Payment includes: room and board and as a small salary.  Perfect for a student attending Local University.   Campus is just a short walk out the front door and across Hyde Park.  Residents would provide a security escort to and from evening classes, if required. Contact Bazur at 555-2972 for more information.The only one to apply is a Co-ed who really needs the job.





	1. Chapter 1

 

“How are you going to get this past your mom?” Jenn demanded.

 

Vinny sighed, put down her coffee and leaned back in her chair.  They were in the coffee shop in the student union building. It was nice.  Its was summer, so the fireplace wasn’t running, but the coffee was better than at the Starbucks across the street.  She stared at the vaulted ceiling and carded her fingers through her long, chestnut brown hair. Then she sat up, put on her professional face and said, “It’s simple logistics.  Chem 403 requires a night lab. It runs from 7:30 until 10:30. While the busses as still technically running, it is down to slow service so-”

 

“It’s going to take you two hours to get home.” Jenn finished.

 

Vinny nodded, “I can’t even get on the bus until almost eleven.  Plus I have a transfer in a bad part of downtown at 11:30 where I have to wait twenty minutes for the next bus to come.  Then I don’t get home until 1:00am and I have to be back at The U for Math 476 at 8am. I can’t afford a car. Hell, I can’t afford school if I lose my scholarship.  I certainly can’t afford to get a place closer to campus. This is perfect.”

 

“Depending on how much house work there is.” Jenn pointed out. “Some people are total slobs.”

 

Vinny nodded.  “But I won’t know that until I go for an interview and find out.”

 

“Assuming you get an interview.”  Jenn looked hard at her friend. “You already applied, didn’t you?”

 

Vinny gave a head wiggle/shoulder shrug and grinned a tight lipped smile.

 

Jenn pushed her glasses further up her freckle covered nose as grinned back.  “Have you told your mom?”

 

Vinny’s smile faded.  “There isn’t any point.  If I don’t get the job or the house is a disaster, or if the people are creepy, then I just don’t say anything and we… try to come up with a different plan.    Fall term doesn’t start for two months, so if it doesn’t work out, I have a little time.”

 

Jenn nodded, slowly.  “That’s fair. But what happens if you turn up for your interview and it’s a pack of werewolves and they eat you?”

 

Vinny gasped, “Jenn that is so speciesist!”

 

Jenn shook her head, “OK, then, what if you turn up and it’s a bunch of human men who are rapists and ax murderers?  The point is, how are you going to be safe?”

 

Vinny’s grin turned conspiratorial, “You could come with me to the interview.  That way you would know where I was and could call the cops if I’m not out in twenty minutes.  Or if you hear screaming.”

 

Jenn narrowed her eyes. “When is the interview?”

 

Vinny looked at the clock, “In about an hour.  But it is just across the park so we have time to finish our coffees.”

 

“Vinny!”

 

“Look, I already walked past the place.  It’s one of those big houses on University boulevard.  The really pricey one’s facing the park. The is even a park bench basically right across the street from it.  “I’ll buy you a fritter and a tea to go and you can hang out and snapchat how you are a good friend while I have my interview.  It’ll be fine.”

 

“Ugh.  Fine.”

 

—-

 

It was an imposing three story, red brick manor.  It was across the street from the park, which meant it must have million dollar views.  Plus the university area was pricier to start with. The whole building was intimidating.

 

Jenn whistled, “Well, you know whoever lives there can afford to hire a maid.”

 

Vinny nodded.  She took a deep breath.  “Wish me luck!” she said, before striding confidently across the street and ringing the doorbell.

 

The man who answered the door was somewhere over six feet tall.  The way he filler out his jeans and t-shirt suggested he had a serious gym habit.  He was also a gargoyle. His skin was a light cement grey and he was taking the phrase chiselled features to a whole new level.

 

Vinny blinked, but recovered quickly, “Are you Mr Bazur?  I’m Vinny. I’m here for my interview.” She held out her hand.

 

He hesitated, then carefully shook it.  His skin was more leathery than Vinny was expecting.  She also knew that gargoyles, by preference don’t wear clothing.  There was no need. Their hide was impervious to the elements. He was dressed for her comfort, not his.  That was something to think about.

 

“Come in.  I’ll show you around first, then if you have any questions, we can go from there.”

 

Vinny nodded and stepped into an entryway that was like something out of an old Hollywood movie.  There was patterned carpet, a good sized foyer with a circle table, then a grand wooden staircase leading up towards a landing with a big bay window.  There was wainscotting. There was decorative pillars. None of it was new, it looked like a well cared for antique. The took the doorway to the right.  “This is the dining room. We actually eat here. There are six of us, you would be number seven.”

 

To the left of that was a set of pocket doors that opened to a pantry with a sink that they walked through to the kitchen.  It was, old but clean. There was a gas range and a farmhouse sink with a built in porcelain drainboard. “The job includes planning and cooking supper.  We are on our own for other meals.”

 

“Any special diets?”

 

Baruz froze.  “Tristan is a vegetarian, Derick is … not.  They are both raw foodies, so they will give you a list when you are grocery shopping.  Other than that, they will take care of themselves. As for the rest of us, you cook, we will eat.”

 

“Tell me about Tristan and Derick.”

 

Bazur sighed.  “Tristan is a minotaur, Derick is a werewolf.”

 

Vinny nodded slowly.  “Are there any humans in this house at all?”

 

“You would be the first.”

 

“Oh.”  She thought about that.  “What is the grocery budget like?”

 

“$1000 a week, which sounds like lots, but we are big eaters.”

 

“What are you expecting the workload to be like?  The ad said it would be a good job for a student, but you are already talking about an hour and a half a day to prepare food, and wash up afterwards.”

 

“We have a rotation for dishes.”

 

Vinny frowned.  “And does that work?  Because I don’t want to be ready to start supper and find out I have to either chase down whoever didn’t clean up or wash them myself before I start the next meal.”

 

“I am expecting the workload to be about two and a half to three hours a day.  If we are more work than that, we will have a meeting and you can share a list of chores that you need us to do.  We all do our own laundry. Housekeeping would be cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming and washing the floors, dusting, and organizing dinner.”

 

“Ok.  Tidying where?”

 

“The common areas.” Bazur replied.  “We are each responsible for our own rooms.”

 

“And I get a room in the house?”

 

“You get half the third floor.  There is a private bathroom up there.  It would be yours exclusively.”

 

Vinny thought about that.  “Let’s see the rest of the house.”

 

The kitchen opened on to the back entry way, which  had a door on each side. The first opened onto a beautiful backyard.  “Tristan is in charge of landscaping.”

 

Heading back inside, Bazur pointed to the opposite door, “That goes to the basement.  It isn’t finished. You don’t have to worry about that, but I will show it to you if you want.”

 

“Maybe next time.”

 

The last door opened into a TV room. There were three large couches, a HUGE TV and a collections of gaming systems.  The coffee table was clean, but there were drink rings.

 

“How long did it take you to clean before the interview?”

 

Bazur coughed. “A while.  But everyone is responsible for their own mess, you just need to vacuum around it.”

 

The next room has a fireplace, a set of french doors leading outside, one of which had been modified to include a doggie door.  It also had a futon and a dresser. “This is Derick’s room. He’s the only one of us who lives on the main floor. He’s a werewolf.”

 

“The raw foodie who isn’t the vegetarian?” Vinny suggested.  Bazur nodded and kept moving.

 

The last corner of the house had a library/ music room, complete with a grand piano.  “We don’t really use this room, except to walk through to the TV room. You don’t have to worry about it.  Want to see upstairs?”

 

Vinny nodded.  As they climbed the stairs, Bazur explained, “You don’t have to do anything with any of the bed rooms, so this floor is just vacuuming the hallways.”  He opened the first door to show a room with a bunch of plants, a display case full of trophies, and a mattress of on the floor. “This is Tristan’s room.  He was a professional on the rodeo circuit.”

 

Vinny felt her eyebrows go up.  “Wow… um…. Not many people would admit to that.”

 

Bazur shrugged.  “You would find out anyway, if you google his name.”

 

Vinny wondered how she would explain to her mom that one of the guys was a minotaur retired from the rodeo circuit when that was basically code for bull riding porn.

 

Bazur continued.  “He doesn’t really like to talk about it.  He’s a little shy.” Vinny choked at that. “So if you don’t bring it up, he won’t either,” Bazur continued, ignoring Vinny’s faux pas.

 

“Right!  Next room is Dren’s.  He’s gelatinous.” Again, no bed, this time it was a clawfoot bathtub that didn’t appear to be connected to anything.  There was a wooden chair. Everything was hard surfaces, including the exposed floorboards.

 

Bazur closed the door and opened the next one. This was even more empty, it looked like something out of a haunted house.  There were spiderwebs everywhere. “Thea is a Drider.”

 

The following room was the most normal looking.  No dresser, but a desk and chair. An armchair near the window with a floor lamp for when it was dark.  There were a stack of books on a side table next to the chair. And a lovely, antique wooden bed with a patchwork quilt.  Bazur looked around, “Oh! Sorry, Kevin. I didn’t know you were home! This is Vinny. She’s interviewing for the housekeeping job.”

 

Vinny looked around the room and didn’t see anyone.  “Um, hi?” There wasn’t any response.

 

“Sorry, Kevin doesn’t always have the best manners.”  Bazur closed the door.

 

Vinny whispered, “Bogeyman, right?  He was under the bed?”

 

Bazur made a face like he was trying not to laugh.  “Mimic. He was the bed.”

 

“Oh.”  Vinny felt like her brain had shorted out and she was running on autopilot.  She barely registered the next room being a large bathroom that was probably a converted bedroom. It had a floor drain, a huge tub and a walk in shower.

 

The last bedroom was on the other side of the staircase from Tristan’s room was also a corner room facing out to the back yard.  This one had been decorated in military memorabilia. “This is Kogan’s room. He’s a semi retired Marine. He works for a security firm.”

 

Vinny nodded, and waited.

 

Bazur sighed.  “He’s an orc.”

 

Vinny considered all of this.  “So… six men living in one building.  How much porn had to get taken down/put away before I arrived?”

 

Two doors down, Kevin burst out laughing.  Bazur looked uncomfortable. “Some. But everyone keeps it in their own rooms.”

 

“Only one bathroom so far.  How does that work?”

 

“Um… there is another one on the main floor that we skipped.”

 

“That bad?”

 

“No! Not too messy.  It’s just, um, where we hid the porn.”

 

“Ah.”  Vinny was quiet for a moment while she tried to digest all of that.  Bazur was looking nervous. “How many people have you interviewed so far?”

 

“Fifteen.”

 

“How many left before they saw their room?”

 

“Ten.”

 

“What about the other five?”

 

“One didn’t pass the criminal record check.  Two stopped returning my calls, one actually started but was so unpleasant about the level of diversity that we had to let him go.”

 

Vinny was slightly surprised at the male pronoun there.

 

“And the other two?”

 

“One left after the meet and greet due to… Kevin’s lack of manners.  One started sexually harassing Tristan.”

 

Vinny nodded slowing.  “You keep talking about Kevin being rude.  What did he do to the one he ran off?”

 

“He was a chair and she sat on him.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Vinny’s mind was racing.  She wanted to know if that was an ongoing issue in the house.  And who was going to be the person who would walk her home from night classes.  And what kind of porn was hiding in the downstairs bathroom. Although, maybe she didn’t want to know.  And she was completely torn between wanting to go home and google Tristan and never, ever wanting to know that about her prospective employer.  She realized she hadn’t said anything in long enough that she was being rude.

 

“Let’s go see the top floor,” she announced.

 

The top floor was basically the attic.  The room at the front of the house had a balcony.  It was the biggest bedroom so far. It had been somewhat divided into zones.  There was a bookcase and a desk in an inside corner, the sleeping zone was next to a fireplace and separated from the small area with a weight bench, yoga mat and free weights.  It was Bazur’s.

 

Out of his room and around the corner there was a reasonably sized bathroom that smelled faintly of bleach.  “This will be your bathroom if you take the job. It was mine, but I’ll be sharing the main floor one. We all agreed it wasn’t fair to … um, make you share with us.”

 

The last room was hers.  The ceilings were vaulted.  There were huge closets under the eves.  She had a gas fireplace, and hardwood floors and huge windows looking out over the gardens.  There were heavy velvet drapes that ran across the whole wall where the windows were looking like old fashioned theatre curtains.  She experimented pulling them closed. They slid easily and completely darkened the room.

 

Bazur coughed.  “Yeah. This room faces east, so the curtains keep you from having light in your eyes at dawn.  Also, there is a bit of a draft in the winter. They help with that at night too.” He pointed to the radiator.  “Hot water heat comes all the way up to here, and you can use the fireplace if you need extra heat.”

 

“That is an awful lot of stairs to get furniture up.”

 

Bazur stopped looking so dejected.  “We would all help. It won’t be a problem,” he assured her.

 

Vinny went over and sat on the window sill.  “Assuming you offer me the job, what is the salary?”

 

“Um… We thought that at max it would be three hours a day, times, thirty days in a month, is 90 hours, approximately.   Call it $15 an hour, would be $1350 less room and board would be… oh… $500?”

 

Vinny swallowed.  “Is that a question?”

 

“It’s nearly double minimum wages,” Bazur said defensively.

 

Vinny nodded.  “My math is - my folks are currently covering room and board.  I have a weekend job, that gives me time to study during the week.  It doesn’t sound like I will have much time for that with this job. My current take home is a bit more but I would need to take a cab across town to get home from my night twice a week.  Plus, whatever you say about the idea that you will eat what I cook, you have three different diets I would need to cater to and the fridge is pretty small. I bet I would need to shop for groceries every second day.”

 

“Why don’t you come for dinner on Friday?  You can meet everyone and we can talk logistics?”

 

Vinny sighed.  “I may be twenty three, but I also still need to convince my Italian Catholic mother that this is a good idea.”

 

Bazur nodded.  “Kogan can take care of that.  He’s Catholic, he’s in security so he has the stats on crime rates for women waiting for cabs and buses on campus after dark.  He’s… mature enough to put her at ease and promise to drive you to mass every Sunday if she wants.”

 

Vinny nodded slowly. “I don’t have a problem with Tristan’s last job but-”

 

“You can honestly say he is a landscaper.  Unless your mom was heavy into rodeo three years ago, she won’t know.”

 

Vinny considered this.  “Do you want to just cut to the chase about the salary, or are we going to dance around first?”

 

“Whatever do you mean?”

 

Vinny shook her head.  “You said $500 like it was a question, which would suggest you are willing to negotiate.  It’s close enough to $600 that we could back and forth for a while, but you have six people living here and I would bet that your target price point is everyone chipping in a hundred dollars a month not to have to cook or scrub the toilets.”

 

Bazur chuckled.  “Yeah. So, six hundred a month, if you pass the meeting everyone test and if we all get the nod from meeting your mom?”

“Ok.  Just don’t let her sit on Kevin.”

  



	2. Chapter 2

“This is ridiculous,” Kevin declared.  He was currently a shadow humanoid wearing a wooden box as shorts.  “No one wants to work for us, guys.The only reason we are getting applications is that Bazur said ‘diverse’ instead of ‘monstrous’ and it only takes one of us answering the doorbell to figure that out.”

 

Thea shrugged, “It got better once Bazur stopped answering the door in a leather jock strap.”

 

Kogan laughed.  “But then he has to wear pants all the time.”

 

Derick rolled his eyes, “Dude!  Pants!It’s a thing!It should be the minimum level of clothing here anyway!  I don’t want to head into the kitchen for a snack and find someone running around with their ass hanging out.”  He turned to Bazur, “You just aren’t that cute.”

 

Bazur frowned, “This is my house!  And anyway, Thea and Dren don’t have to wear pants.”

 

Dren looked up from the bowl of soup he was slowly absorbing.  “I can wear pants.I do at work.”

 

Tristen considered all of this.  “She can’t be any worse than the last one.”

 

Kevin grinned, showing off a mouthful of needle-like teeth, “The last one was really into you.”

 

“The last one was objectifying me.”

 

Kogan cleared his throat.  “You know we aren’t paying enough for this to be a full time job, right?  We can’t all just keep being slobs.Whoever we get will be here to help, not do all the work for us.  No leaving soup out when you are done with it Dren.We just got rid of the ants.”

 

Dren shrugged, “I never leave my dirty dishes out.”

 

Bazur nodded, Dren never did.  Derick never did, he couldn’t stand the smell.  Kogan kept his space military level clean.No, that was a not so subtle dig at him, Thea and Kevin.

 

But mostly Kevin.

 

The tenants  weren’t exactly clear what Kevin did for a living.  He kept odd hours.He never talked about it, and he always paid in cash with small bills.At one point Dren and Tristan had gotten drunk and speculated on Kevin being some sort of stripper.  Kogan had laughed his great booming laugh and put five dollars on Kevin being a smuggler.

 

It didn’t matter.  No one had been able to find out.

 

Bazur knew, but he wasn’t talking.

 

In the end, they cleaned before the interview.  No point in scaring her off too soon.Bazur made sure to book the interview when the boys would be out.  He was dressed and ready to go an hour before she was due to show up.He spent his time pacing.

 

The problem was the house was huge.  The maid services he had contacted had all quoted hundreds of dollars a week and that didn’t include cooking or menu planning, a task that was universally despised in the house.  It hadn’t been easy to clear the junk out of the attic, but including room and board was their best chance at getting someone.Humans didn’t eat much, and the campus was mostly human.

 

Hell, the whole town was mostly human.  Dren was the only gelatinous Bazur had ever seen in town, and he had been hired specifically to work with autistic kids.  The man was practically a living stim toy.

 

Bazur jumped when the doorbell rang.  He was shocked when he opened the door.  So was she, but she recovered first.He knew that Vincensia was a fourth year biochem major at the U.  He knew she had won a scholarship to pay for her tuition.He wasn’t expecting her to be beautiful. And outgoing and friendly in a way that went beyond what most people brought to the table when talking to not humans.  Bazur managed to fumble through most of the house tour on auto pilot after having done it so many times before.

 

He was doing fine until she asked about porn.

 

At that point he was sure it was over.

 

He was shocked that she agreed to come to dinner.

 

Oh hell!  She was coming to dinner!  What were they going to feed her?

 

\-----

 

That night it was pizza take out.  Three pepperoni, one ham and pineapple, one vegetarian, and (because KEVIN) one pineapple and sardines.

 

Bazur was surprised.  No one asked.Finally after this third beer, Kogan belched and asked, “Did this one even make it through the door?”

 

“Yeah,she did,” Derick said. “I could smell her in my room when I got home.

 

“She’s coming for dinner on Friday.”

 

There was a moment of stunned silence.

 

The room erupted in sound.  Everyone started yelling.Tristan wanted to know what she thought of the tour.  Krogran wanted to know what species she was.Dren wanted to know what she looked like.  Thea wanted to know if she was freaked out by his room.

 

Bazur waited for them to run down.  “Human, gorgeous, Italian - so you know her cooking will be amazing, lives with her parents, didn’t freak out about there being a drider or a mimic, but she wants her mom’s approval before she takes the job.  And I’m pretty she if we let either her or her mom sit on Kevin, all bets are off.”

 

They all went quiet at that.

 

“Um… “ Tristan started, “When you say gorgeous...”

 

“Long dark hair, huge dark eyes, creamy skin, Sophia Loren’s curves,” Kevin answered.  “I can’t believe she’s coming back to meet us losers.She could make five bills in five minutes at a strip club.”

 

“She has concerns about the workload.  She made a fair point, we advertised as a good job for a student, but if she needs to spend all of her out of class time cleaning up after us, she won’t have time to study.  She estimated that cooking supper and washing up was a ninety minute job all on her own. I said we would organize taking care of the washing up if she needed.She was worried that-”

 

“Holy shit!” Kogan interrupted, “If she is planning on taking an hour to make dinner, she is cooking from scratch!”

 

They all stopped to consider this,

 

Dren nodded slowly, “It only takes 15 minutes to throw a frozen pizza in the oven.”

 

Thea blinked, it was impressive.  “We can’t fuck this one up guys.”

 

They all looked at Kevin.  He was currently human shaped, if humans came in wood grain and had a lock set over his groin.

 

“What?”

 

\----

 

They cleaned the kitchen.  They had twelve place settings.  Each of the guys had two and using someone else’s was a hanging offense.  Each of them had his own pattern on his dishes.Dren had plain white from Ikea.  Thea’s were black and square. Kogan’s were beige stoneware.Derick’s were stainless steel.  Tristan’s were blue enamelled and came from a camping store.Bazur’s were Belleek.The Claddagh pattern.

 

Kevin…. Well Kevin’s were vintage novelty plates from Las Vegas featuring pin up girls.

 

Everyone knew that.  They had just never really considered how that would look to an outsider.

 

“What?” Kevin demanded.  “Hey, they aren’t the ones where the girls clothes fall off when the plates get warm.”

 

Dren looked horrified, “Is that a thing?”

 

“Yes,” chorused Kevin, Tristan and Kogan.

 

Bazur shook his head.  “She can use my other set.  I guess if she moves in, I’ll buy more dishes.”

 

They had decided to order in take away.  Derick was out collecting a car full of chinese food.  Kogan wandered over to the fridge.It was full of beer.  There were also pickles, ketchup and mustard and an elderly jar of mayo.  “We are going to need to get her a separate fridge for cooking.”

 

Dren yelled from the dining room, “Does anyone even know if the stoves works?”

 

“It works just fine!” Bazur yelled back.

 

Kogan raised an eyebrow.  Bazur came over and tried turning on the burners.  They all lit.Both men breathed a sigh of relief.Kogan opened the drawer under the oven.  It was full of dust, mouse shit and cheap tin pots from the fifties.He looked at Bazur, “You buy her a fridge and I’ll buy her new pots, mixing bowls and plates.  Deal?”

 

Bazur nodded slowly.

 

“I’ll pitch in for a stand mixer,” Thea said from the ceiling, making the other two jump.  Once they were looking up at him, he added, “And Kogan is getting the short end of the stick.  Outfitting a kitchen costs way more than a fridge.”

 

“She’s here!” Dren called.

 

Thea ran across the ceiling and down a wall, beating them all to the door.  He wrenched it open and froze. 

 

The girl’s eyes went wide then she blinked and blushed and said, “Wow!  Um, sorry!I’ve just never met a drider before.Or, you know, um seen one.  Argh!I’m being rude!”She held out a hand, took a deep breath and said, “Hi! I’m Vinny!”

 

Thea ran up a wall, across the ceiling and up the side of the staircase.

 

Vinny looked a Bazur.  “Sorry.Um.I’m not exactly off to a good start.  But I brought cannoli for dessert.”

 

Derick was walking up the walk with a huge box of dinner, “Wow!  Homemade cannoli?”

 

“Uh, yeah, like an audition.”

 

“You’re hired!” he announced.  “Hell, forget the job, will you marry me?”

 

Vinny blinked, “No.  But I will have a eggroll if you brought any.”

 

“OK.” he said easily as he walked past her.  “Clear a path, food coming through!”

 

Kogan and Dren headed to the dining room.  Derick followed with the box of food.Vinny was still standing on the step.  Bazur smiled, “Come on in. They are all really excited to meet you.”

 

Vinny gave him a funny look.

 

“What?”

 

“I scared off your drider and you aren’t wearing pants.”

 

“Oh! Shit!  Um.I’ll go get pants.  I’m sure Thea just went to get Tristan.”

 

Vinny still didn’t come in.  “Is the no pants thing going to be a thing?”

 

“NO! Um… maybe?  I’ll get better at it, I promise.”

 

“Uh-huh.” Now she came in.  She hung her coat on the hall tree and headed into the dining room.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [There is a sticker promotion on for this work! See tumblr for details!](https://pixie-unger.tumblr.com/post/182047127023/whos-your-favourite-housemate-pixie-unger-on)


	3. Chapter 3

###  Vinny was a lot less sure of this once she saw all the other… people who lived in the house.  It was one thing to understand, intellectually that she was going to be the only human, and the only woman in the house.  I was another thing to be faced by a number of large males, any of whom could end her life without trying. It looked like they all had assigned seating.  Vinny watched them start unpacking the food. It was a lot of food.  
  
“Excuse me, ma’am?”  
  
Vinny jumped.  The voice behind her was deep with an accent that was really weird hybrid of Scottish and Texas.  She turned and came boobs to belt buckle with a minotaur. While she stared up at him in shock, he eased past her and took a seat at the table.  The drider dropped from the ceiling and slid into one of the other seats. Vinny came over to the table and considered the last two chairs. Then she looked at Bazur.  
  
“Which one is Kevin?”  
  
Something bumped into the backs of her calves, making her wobble and dance to the side.  A small truck walked past her and jumped into one of the remaining chairs.  
  
“Huh.” she said, finally as she took the last seat.  
  
“What?” rumbled the orc, as he watched her through narrowed eyes.  The tusks meant that orcs always looked like they were frowning, but the wrinkled brow suggested that he was actually frowning.  
  
Vinny cleared her throat and accepted the fried rice the minotaur was passing her.  “I, um, I’ve never… “ She stopped and tried again, “Mimics are rare. I’ve never actually seen - met one before.  I was half convinced that was just some prank you pulled to see how people would react.  
  
Kevin opened his lid and reached out a midnight black arm holding a pair of chopsticks.  
  
Vinny realized she was staring.  She blinked and looked over to see the minotaur patiently holding a carton of lemon chicken in her direction.  She hurried to take some rice so she could pass it along and take the chicken. “I don’t suppose you would take a moment to introduce yourselves?”  
  
They all froze and looked at her like she had grown a second head.  
  
“Ok.  I’ll start.  Hi! I’m Vinny.  I’m in my fourth year of biochem at the local U.”  
  
No one said anything.  They all just stared.  
  
Vinny cleared her throat.  ‘If you can’t be bothered because I didn’t pass the interview, it’s ok to tell me that.  I would rather know.”  
  
The mostly normal looking guy sitting to her left said, “Haven’t we scared you off yet?  You smell scared.”  
  
Vinny narrowed her eyes.  “That would make you …” she drew out the last syllable as she racked her brain then blurted out, “Derick” a moment before he did.  
  
Derick smirked, “See! You didn’t need introductions after all!”  
  
The minotaur cleared his throat.  “We can be polite, we are just out of practice.  I’m Tristan.”  
  
Vinny nodded.  The rest of the men introduced themselves after that, except for Kevin who was busy shoveling food into his mouth and Thea who just waved shyly.

 

Vinny sighed.

 

\----

 

“No!  Absolutely not!”

 

Vinny took a deep breath and considered her mom across the breakfast table.  Her little brother was snickering into his milk. “I really did investigate every other possibility before I applied and-”

 

“And that’s another thing!  You went there by yourself? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?  What if something had happened?”

 

Now Vinny narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.  “I took Jenn with me. And you don’t like this solution?  Fine! Tell me how this is supposed to work?”

 

“You can take a cab home.”

 

“Really?  After hours rates would be $40 a trip, twice a week for fifteen weeks a semester.  That’s like $1200 a term. You flat out refused to let me take Uber at that time of night.  Which is worse? Random, stranger driving an Uber at 10:30 at night? Or a ex-military orc who was honourably discharged?  And you get to know exactly who the orc is and you can give his very specific details to the cops if I go missing.” 

 

“I don’t like this, Vincenzia!  We can get someone to pick you up.”

 

“Ma!  Who? You need to be home with JJ-”

 

Vinny’s little brother looked up from his cereal and said, “Hey! I can take care of myself!”

 

They both ignored him.  “You can’t load him into a car at 10:00 on a school night to drive the half hour trip to campus.  You going to leave him here, alone for the hour minimum that it is going to take to pick me up? And that’s ignoring that you don’t like driving at night.  And that you have to be up at five thirty to be at work on time.”

 

They glared at each other.  Everyone said it was easy to see where Vinny got her tenacity from.  

 

“It’s Saturday.  Kogan is coming to church with us tomorrow and we are invited over there for brunch so you can meet the guys and see where I’ll be staying and everything.”

 

Valerie Jovani narrowed her eyes.  “I thought you said you were going to be the cook.  How are we going to go for brunch at their house if they don’t cook?’  She asked the question like a poker player laying down an ace.

 

Vinny shrugged, “It doesn’t matter if they feed us pop tarts and beer, the brunch isn’t the point.”

 

“No, the point is that you are not moving into a house with a bunch of men.  You are not Snow White, they are not the seven dwarves.”

 

“Does that make you the evil queen?”  JJ asked with his mouth full.

 

Mrs Jovani was stunned into silence for long enough for Vinny to make her get away.

 

\----

 

Vinny knew this wasn’t going to work as soon as Kogan pulled up to their church riding a Road Hawg Orc motorcycle.  It was big. It was loud. It was built for a seven foot, three hundred pound plus rider. He removed a helmet that had a stylized orc skull on the side.  He pulled off a pair of sunglasses and tucked them into the pocket of his worn leather jacket. He looked a little better when he took off the jacket to reveal a blue dress shirt and navy tie.  Except...

 

“Well, bless me father for I have sinned, ”  it was muttered darkly under her breath, but it still wasn’t something Vinny wanted to hear from her Aunt Toni. 

 

Val tried to be subtle as she kicked her sister in the shins.

 

Toni turned on her heels and made eye contact with her sister as she mouthed, “oh my god he is hot.”

 

Vinny rolled her eyes.  Yeah. Kogan knew how to fill out a shirt.  And the slight paunch somehow just made his shoulders look broader.  This was not the reaction she was hoping for.

 

She wasn't pleased when Aunt Toni invited herself to brunch.  Jesus.

 

At least Kogan knew the words.  And when to stand and sit during mass.  She almost died during the sign of peace when JJ pushed up Kogan’s sleeve and announced, “Whoa!  Cool rosary tattoo dude!”

 

Brunch was in the garden.  It was crepes and fruit with whipped cream.  Everyone was dressed up. Sort of. Bazur was at least wearing pants.  Thea was wearing a brown tartan bow tie and a polo shirt. He wasn’t wearing anything else, but clothing was also optional for driders.  It might have been better if JJ hadn’t asked if he could pet the drider. Vinny grabbed his arm and dragged him a way to explain that his had just asked to rub the nice man’s ass.  JJ thought that was hilarious.

 

Aunt Toni spent entirely too much time staring at Tristan thoughtfully.

 

Vinny felt like she spent the whole time trying to wrangle her family so they wouldn’t be completely rude to her potential bosses.

 

OMG!  Aunt Toni just slowly sucked whipped cream off her finger while making heavy eye contact with Tristan.   Vinny was on her way over to have words with her aunt when the woman shifted uncomfortably in her seat and blushed.

 

Val frowned from across the table, “You ok, Toni?”

 

Vinny watched as her aunt started to fan herself, “Hot flash,” Toni announced.  “I’ll be fine in a moment.” The last word came out as a squeek. 

 

Vinny felt the blood drain from her face as she looked around and couldn’t find Kevin.  She looked at Bazur in horror. He blinked, then quickly shook his head and pointed to a side table where JJ had set his orange juice.  Vinny marched over picked up the glass and muttered, “Come with me if you want to live,” under her breath. She didn’t wait to see if it was going to work but after a few steps she heard the pitter patter of mimic feet behind her.  She marched right in the back door and made a right into the living room.

 

Once she was in the center of the room she spun on her heels and came face to face with a giant rocking horse.

 

“Really?  That’s what you are going with here?”

 

The rocking horse blurred and was replaced with a sea trunk.  Vinny wished she knew how that worked but also was kind of glad she didn’t.

 

“I have been assured you talk, even if I’ve never heard it.”

 

The sea chest gave no indication of life.

 

“I wanna know if you are gonna sabotage this for me.  I don’t exactly have a lot of options here. I know it.  Ma knows it. But she isn’t gonna want me staying here if she thinks it isn’t safe and I’m not gonna wanna stay here if I know she is worried about me.  Pop left years ago. It’s been her and me as a team since then. And, yeah, I know Aunt Toni is being inappropriate. But she’s not the one who will be living here.  But she is mom’s sister and her opinion will count for something too.”

 

Still no response.

 

“And, yeah, I have no idea how her thing with Tristan is going to play out.  But I can’t exactly ask her if she recognizes him in front of my mom and my brother now can I?”

 

Nothing.

 

Vinny hesitated, “If you are actually a really nice guy who is just being slandered by the others, I am sorry.”

 

After a moment she said, “Ok.  Good talk,” and she went back outside.  At the threshold she was sure she heard snickering.

 

When she got back out to the garden, Ma and Kogan were having a quiet word in the back corner.  Tristen was giving Aunt Toni and impromptu lecture about varieties of lily. Toni looked bored out of her mind.  JJ was playing Go Fish with Thea and Dren.

 

Finally, it was time to go and as they all loaded into the car, Val turned to Toni and asked, “What the hell - sorry JJ - was that thing with the whipped cream?”

 

Toni laughed, then coughed, and said, “I thought I recognized the minotaur.  But I was thinking of someone else.”

 

“Yeah well now Vinny’s gonna haveta apologize for you when she moves in.  Otherwise they won’t let us come back to visit.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [There will be faster updates now through Feb 2, 2019 as part of the sticker promotion. See Tumblr for details.](https://pixie-unger.tumblr.com/post/182047127023/whos-your-favourite-housemate-pixie-unger-on)


	4. Chapter 4

Thea was watching his friends carry furniture up to the attic. He was keeping out of the way. Kogan and Bazur and Derick and Tristan had the carrying thing down. The dresser and a desk had already been manhandled up the stairs. The one that was giving Thea some pause was that he could tell that Vinny’s mattress was not going to fit up the stairs.

He thought about that as he climbed up the outside of the back of the house and started building a winch system for raising the big stuff to the third story windows. Thea might have bulk from his spider half, but his human half wasn’t muscular.  He was used to watching construction workers wanting to do things by brute force when there were safer and more efficient options for anyone who would stop and think for a moment.

Once he was set up, he cornered JJ and the two of them snuck the mattress around to the back of the house. Thea got it set up with lifting straps and then sent JJ up to the third floor to open the windows. From there it was all about mechanical advantage to get the mattress up the outside of the building. Thea carefully maneuvered it in through the windows.  He managed to get it in and disengage the webbing he had made for lifting before he realized Vinny was watching him.

“Um, it’s wrapped in plastic. I was careful not to leave any web residue on it.”

She smiled, “Thank you, Thea.”

He nodded awkwardly, then climbed out the window to dismantle the winch system he had made.

Awkward became his go to word for the next few days. Driders weren’t naturally social. This coupled with working in a male dominated field left him completely unprepared to talk to her. While the others would ask her about her day and find ways to include her in the conversation, Thea went completely tongue tied around her. The food was awesome. The house was clean. Life was better with her here.

And it wasn’t even that she was doing all the cleaning. She was very clear. They got two hours of her time each day. She could either spend that meal planning, shopping for groceries, and cooking. Or she could spend it cleaning the kitchen. It was entirely up to them what she spent her time on. But if the kitchen wasn’t clean when she sat down to menu plan, or cook, or left the house to go buy food, she would do that instead. Occasionally, she would trade shopping time to any of them in exchange for doing other chores. Kogan regularly negotiated for her to clean the bathroom as he went out with the list. Derick hated the vacuum, so he worked out something similar.

Thea was very impressed that she managed to get them to do their chores without resorting to shame or nagging.

“There are underwear on the floor of the bathroom.”

Tristan got up from the couch to go deal with that. But it was a simple statement of fact. No accusations, no comments about them being disgusting. Merely, they are on the floor. She was like that. “There aren’t any clean glasses,” to remind who ever was on dish duty to fix that. And she wouldn’t nag.  

Kevin had cost them a dinner once, learning that she didn’t nag. She came home from work at 5 and sent out a group text message that the kitchen wasn’t ready for her to cook. Then she planned dinner, went out and bought groceries. When she came back the kitchen still wasn’t ready for her to cook. So she put the groceries in the fridge and cleaned the kitchen.

Then she handed the recipe to Bazur and went out for supper with her friend.

The guys had a  _ discussion  _ about how Kevin had been home all day to clean the kitchen. In the end, he bought pizza for everyone.

The next day, since she didn’t have to menu plan or shop, she vacuumed the floors.  

She was definitely working the agreed upon hours. It was just that the house was a bigger job than they realized.

And now it was Friday night. They were eating steak and mushrooms, green beans and risotto. Vinny cleared her throat. They all froze and looked at her.

“I understand you are all busy, but I made a list of maintenance that hasn’t been done on the house. How is that sort of thing handled?”

Bazur cleared his throat, “What kind of maintenance?”

Vinny shrugged, “The gutters need to be cleaned. The carpets could really do with a steam clean. The windows need the outside cleaned. There is dust matted on the walls, they need to be cleaned. Some of the grout in the bathrooms needs to be repaired before you get mould. The hardwood floors need to be waxed at the very least. I’m too short to check the batteries in the smoke detectors, but someone should. You know. The kind of stuff that needs to be done every few months.

In the end, they agreed to spend part of Saturday afternoon with everyone pitching in for a few hours. Vinny said that if they were all working on the house, she would too, but it wasn’t stuff she could do on her own.

That is how Thea ended up cleaning the gutters. Bazur was doing the windows on the main floor, but Thea was in charge of the upper floors. Kevin was washing walls. Kogan was running the rented carpet cleaner. Derick was re grouting the bathrooms and Tristan was using a restorer on the hardwood floors.

About the time that Thea was washing the windows, Vinny started washing the same window, but on the inside. That way she could point out streaks he might have missed. He was about to go on to the second window when she opened the first one.  

“Can you tell me where I miss too? It’s hard to see from this close to the window.”

Thea nodded, but spent the rest of the afternoon pointing out where Vinny had missed. He wanted to just hide in his room and die. He was pretty sure that girls didn’t respond well to constantly pointing out their mistakes. They did her room last. For Bazur’s room and hers she needed to go up and down the step stool to get the top half of the windows. 

Vinny was decidedly out of breath and a little sweaty by the time they finished. She headed to her shower. Thea went to his room. Kevin was sitting in the corner.

“What’s up?” Thea asked softly.

Kevin cleared his throat. “I don’t know how to not be an asshole around her.”

Thea nodded. “I never know what to say.”

“I wasn’t trying to piss her off by leaving a mess in the kitchen. I just lost track of it. And I didn’t get the text until it was too late.”

Thea frowned, “Really? Because if any of us where going to test the boundaries-”

“I know!  And I did. But not like that.”

Thea felt a little worried about that. “What did you do?”

“I hid in her room. I wanted to know if she could spot me. She didn’t. But I over heard her talking to someone named Jenn about how she wasn’t sure this was going to work. That she wasn’t cut out to be the house mom to the lost boys.”

“Was that before or after you skipped dish duty?”

Kevin didn’t say anything.

There was a knock on the door and Kevin was instantly a side table.

“Come in.”

It was Vinny, “Thea? Is there something you need to tell me?”

He panicked. His brain completely blanked except for an overwhelming sense of dread.

She sighed and closed the door. “I get the feeling that you don’t actually like me all that much. Is it something I did?”

Aw hell! He was cornered in his own room there was nowhere to run.

And Kevin was snickering too softly for her to hear.

“Um... You are fine. I like you. I mean, I don’t  _ like  _ you but you, um, make really good cannoli. Uh… yeah, so… um.” He wasn’t helping. Her eyebrows had done that thing where they tense up over her nose. No quite a frown but just a forehead frown. “Are you mad at me?”

She shook her head slowly. “I’m old enough to know that not everyone is going to like me. But you never even say hi.”

Thea looked at the floor. “I’m not good at people. Um. Girls. Um… Women! I just…. Yeah. Ugh. Way to be coherent, Thea.”

Now she cocked her head a little and asked, “Did you mean to say that last bit out loud?”

Thea replayed what he had just said. Then he panicked and ran up the wall to hide in his nest in the top corner of the room. 

Eventually, they all went to eat at the pub where Derick worked. Vinny sat next to him and they laughed and chatted and she took his advice on what to order. Derick waved as he headed to the back room to start his shift. Kogan leaned over and nudge Thea, “You are staring lad. It’s a little rude.”

Thea ducked his head. Kogan clapped him on the back. “C’mon. Let’s head home.”

“I don’t know how to talk to her, Kogan.”

“Just talk to her the way you talk to me.” Kogan said as they headed out to the van that had been retrofitted to carry a drider.

“But she isn’t you.” Thea said.

Kogan snorted, “Right. I aint that purty.” He exaggerated the mispronunciation to make his point.

Thea cringed, “Yeah,” he admitted.

Kogan gave him a long look, “Shit, son, you got get past that. We can’t run off another one.”

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Vinny was arguably too young for him. Derick had become a werewolf in the early days of punk. He had been working at a bar and there was an accident. Now it was more than 50 years later and he was still at the same bar, or at least the same location.  

He owned it now. No one knew that. He had a manager handling almost everything. He was still on the floor as a bartender and kept a really close eye on the books.  

A big part of the attraction from renting from Bazur was that he wasn’t the oldest person in the building. Eventually, it would be him and the living statue after everyone else had passed on. At least the bar kept him young and current. He didn’t really get on with the local packs. They were too old fashioned around a few things he felt strongly about. He could see the attraction to having a family who wasn’t going to die on you. But there were some things he couldn’t be bothered to put up with.

Vinny was cute, but she also had zero bullshit tolerance. It gave them a lot in common. Derick nearly choked when he was listening to The Clash version of “I Fought the Law,” and she came in and asked if it was a remake of that old Green Day song. He appreciated most of the music she listened to. And it was one more vote against letting Tristan play country on the stereo.  

After the first week of figuring out schedules, they started running together every morning. That was nice. It meant that he stopped getting reported as a stray and she didn’t have to worry about assholes commenting on her running pants. And, damn, her ass really did look good in those tights.

From morning runs it didn’t take long to ease into breakfasts together. Derick always cooked eggs. Vinny generally had cereal with added fruit or yogurt with added nuts. He started making her an egg, then two and talking about getting more protein in. She started out just humouring him before admitting that she wasn’t as hungry by coffee break any more.  

The way he saw it, it was on him, Kogan and Bazur to help her settle in. Thea was useless around her. No one trusted Kevin to be alone with her. Dren was just too damn busy. Tristan would accidentally sprinkle double entendres into the conversation, then be mortified when he realized what he had said. Even if what he said was so obscure that she likely didn’t get the reference.

And Derick was fine with that. Tristan really was, as far as he was concerned, the competition. Nether Kogan nor Bazur was going to make the first move and Vinny wasn’t about to throw herself at them. Derick, meanwhile had long term goals with this arrangement and having Tristan get there first was not part of them.

Wednesday at dinner he opened with, “Hey, Vinny? We used to have movie night on Thursdays. Dinner in front of the TV. Think you could stick around and join us for that?”

She blinked, clearly taken aback. “Um… OK. Something that can be eaten on the couch then?”

“Or we could order take away so you can have a night off.”

She looked a little confused. “I thought the point of having me here was so that you didn’t have to eat take ways all the time.”

Kogan rumbled at that, “One night a week isn’t all the time. ‘Sides, it will make it easier on you when you head back to school. I promised your mom that we wouldn’t let your grades slip.”

Derick mentally rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, ok,” Vinny agreed. “What movie?”

“We take turns picking,” Bazur explained. “Is there something you want to see?” 

Vinny shook her head, “I’m not going first.”

Dren cleared his throat, “Don’t go giving away my turn just so you don’t have to watch The Life of Pi.”

Vinny blinked. “What?”

Dren shrugged and went back to slowly absorbing his food, “Bazur doesn’t always like my picks, but if I can put up with his period dramas, he can put up with-”

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies doesn’t count as a period drama!” Bazur protested.

Tristan snorted, “I agree to disagree.”

“What kind of movies do you like?” Vinny asked.

Everyone started to laugh.

“What?” she demanded.

Kogan cleared his throat, “He likes chick flicks.”

“Romance,” Tristan corrected. “Nicholas Sparks style of thing.”

“Huh,” Vinny said, sound slightly baffled.  

Derick watched Tristan brace for the comment about romance not really pairing with his rodeo back ground. It never came. It took a moment for the minotaur to wind down.

“Any way,” Vinny continued oblivious, as she got up and took her plate to the sink, “I have to rush to make it to work on time. Skipping cooking tomorrow, got it.” She finished scrubbing her dish and put it in the drainer. Then dried her hands on the towel. “Supper tonight is Boeuf Bourguignon,” she pulled a crock out of the new fridge and set it on the counter before digging out the slow cooker base, “It just needs to stay on low and it will be ready to go at six. I’m baking buns to go with it. See you at five!” 

And with that she picked up her purse, walked out the front door and promptly missed her bus. Kogan laughed and picked up his spare helmet off the hall tree.  “Let me,” Derick requested, “I’ll drive her.”

Korgan shrugged, and tossed the helmet to the werewolf. “Watch the speed limit. The rest of traffic doesn’t have your reaction times,” Kogan warned. “And neither does your passenger,” he added.

“Got it.” Derick opened the door just as Vinny got back to the house. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride.”

Vinny smiled up at him, “Thanks!”

Yeah. That was worth it.

——

Derrick saved Vinny a spot on the couch. Next to him. Kevin was currently an egg chair.  The pizza was great, the movie was eventually not bad, in the meantime Vinny settled in against him. She was warm and soft and she smelled good. She was comfortable here. 

That was surprising.  It had taken so little time. They were monsters. However much humans preached inclusiveness, it hadn’t been achieved yet. They barely tolerated each other. Monsters, non humans, others were only as tolerated as they were useful. Driders worked in construction, gelatinous were frequently ended up as sex workers, even if Dren had spent years at school until he was overqualified to work as a therapist for people with sensory processing disorders. Tristan had used sex work to pay for his degree because minotaurs couldn’t get other jobs. Werewolves were seen as diseased, it was only the transient nature of bar patrons that kept him employed.  

Orcs worked as soldiers because they were good at following orders. And at killing.  

And Derick was half convinced that more than half of Kevin’s issues were that he was generally considered furniture. He had no legal status.

Gargoyles were the history keepers.  People paid extra to hire a real estate agent that could remember the history of a building.  But they didn’t want them participating in society otherwise. And really, the only reason that they were all living in this house was that no one would rent to a single male non-human. Except another non-human. Even then, most were speciesist. Any other werewolves he had met considered humans to be prey.

Kevin just flat out left movie night at the first killing. By the time they got to the horrible ending, everyone was thoroughly uncomfortable.

Derick stood up and stretched, “Well, I feel morally superior for having watched that.”

Vinny shook her head, “I knew the ending. I just feel emotionally drained.”

Kogan coughed, “My turn next. I always pick comic book movies. Have you seen the first Deadpool?”

Vinny snorted, “Am I going to get to see the second?”

Kogan nodded, “Next week, **my** turn.”

Vinny nodded and yawned and stretched.

“Can I walk you home?” Derick asked. She blinked at him in confusion. “In case you get lost on the way upstairs, I mean.”

Vinny laughed and nodded and took his arm.

“God, I miss this.”

“And what is that?”

“Women who treat me like people,” he said simply. There was probably a better way to dress it up, but he couldn’t quite think of one just now. Maybe he should have taken the time because she stumbled on the steps at his words. His faster reaction time meant that he had a steadying hand at the small of her back before she could fall backwards down the few steps they had climbed.

He expected the flinch. It still stung when it happened.

“Whoa! How did you move that fast?”

“Practice,” he teased. Then as he started to pull his hand away, he felt her arm come across his back and up onto his shoulder.

“Good thing you decided to walk me home. Who knew this was such a dangerous area?”

He smirked; she laughed.  

The third floor landing was freezing. “Shit. I know Bazur sometimes forgets to close the window, but he was downstairs with us all night.” He sniffed. “Smells like rain,” he said uneasily.

Vinny noticed. “Afraid you will melt?” she teased.

Derick blushed and pulled away. She caught his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. To his shock and horror he was too unsettled to even enjoy it.

Her face fell and she took a step back. “Wow, that was awkward. I… I’m sorry I overstepped.”

He didn’t move his hands from around her waist. “I really don’t like thunderstorms. It isn’t you. That was nice and if you try again tomorrow, I promise I won’t be distracted. I just really, really don’t like storms.”

She cocked her head and frowned at him, “My Nonna had a dog that would hi-”

Now he stepped back. “Don’t do that. I am a person, not a dog.”

She shifted awkwardly. “I’m sorry. I just thought… Well, it was the only time Baxter ever slept on her bed, was during thunderstorms. I have a big enough bed for both of us while you are… changed. I thought… I’m sorry. You’re right you are an adult. I’m sure you have this.”

Derick blinked. There was no way he could be understanding this correctly. “You are offering to let me sleep with you?”

Now she was embarrassed. She looked at the floor. “I’m not offering to have sex with you. Just… I … yeah. You can sleep in my room if you want.”

At that point, there was flash of light followed immediately by a crash of thunder that rattled the window. August storm season was officially upon them and Derick had kicked it off with an undignified yelp in front of his crush.

Vinny opened her door. “It’s up to you. But you are sleeping on top of the covers, whatever form you are wearing.”

He followed her into her room. He watched as she closed the windows. He could smell Kevin, but couldn’t see him. Vinny pulled a night shirt out from under her pillow. “I’m going to brush my teeth.”

Derrick watched her leave. He was stripped and changed and trembling by the time she got back.

Vinny looked at him, then closed the door. She crawled into bed then patted the spot next to her. “Come on then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have three days left on my sticker promotion so you will be getting daily updates for the next three days. Please consider checking it out if you like my work.


	6. Chapter 6

Kevin found Vinny interesting.  She was trying so hard to organize them, the job, the way she wanted before she went back to school next month.  At the same time not noticing that Derick was finding ways to spend extra time with her. He doubted that going back to uni with a werewolf boyfriend was in her plans.

 

The woman could cook like nobody’s business.  But that wasn’t that remarkable. No, the thing that he found interesting was her ability to manage the mass of males into a less messy state without any of them resenting her.  It was harder than it sounded. But she had gotten all of them to start caring about where they left their dirty dishes. And not because she nagged them, no, she just looked so disappointed when they left a mess.

 

Her first week, she had cleaned the living room, then went for groceries.  While she was out Kogan and Thea had a contest for who could throw the most popcorn into his mouth while he was a five foot high urn.  Mostly they hadn’t. Vinny came home and looked at the mess on the floor and didn’t say anything. She didn’t get mad. No. It was worse.  She just looked exhausted, like she was going to cry. She left the groceries in the kitchen and went up to her room and called her friend Jenn and sobbed that it was a hundred times worse that the shit JJ would pull and she didn’t realize it was going to be like being the house mom to a group of toddlers.

 

While Kevin, was eavesdropping, Kogan and Thea had cleaned up the mess.

 

No one ever mentioned it again.

 

Kevin wasn’t sure if any of the others knew she almost quit that day.  Maybe they did. Kogan was better at reading people than most. Of course, her profound disappointment hadn’t done anything to make Thea relax around her.  Fuck, the drider had it bad. Kevin had kind of being cheering for Thea. Not that it would help, the guy was so shy. Still, he had hoped he would get to see some kinky drider suspension shit.

 

He had inadvertently seen most of the lads playing with themselves at one point or another.  He knew what Thea was hiding. It would be interesting to see that in action sometimes.

 

Except, now she was spooning a scared werewolf in a thunderstorm.  Kevin had no idea what that was going to do to the dynamic around here.

 

\-----

 

Kevin hadn’t actually spoken to Vinny yet.  She had spoken to him. He had listened. She didn’t have the furniture memorized in the house yet, so she didn’t always know when he was around.  Sadly, he was going to have to change those things. 

 

People didn’t think of mimics as people.  Largely, they didn’t bother learning how they worked.  A mimic was basically a cross between a hermit crab and a shapeshifter.  Kevin was a basic, humanoid, admittedly a flexible one. He had an attached structure that looked like wood that he could mold into various shapes to hide in.  Classically a chest, but it could be almost anything. But it was part of him. Organic and alive and currently drying out. He needed something to help keep himself from cracking and he needed her to not offer to buy him furniture polish.

 

He waited until she got up in the morning to have her shower.  He moved out into the hallway to wait. This was the stressful part for him.  In order to really be able to talk to her, he had to be exposed. People didn’t like that.  His teeth were too big. It reminded him that they were potentially prey. 

 

He converted his shell into something like a wooden pair of underwear.  It made him look like the classic man wearing a barrel instead of pants that had been a Saturday morning cartoon joke until political correctness took it off the air.  Then he stood at the top off the stairs and waited.

 

She came out of the bathroom wearing a robe and toweling off her hair.  The little scream she gave when she saw him was not encouraging. Kevin swallowed his pride.  There was no way to ask this without admitting his limitations. Not if he wanted her help.

 

And he did.

 

Right.  Stick with that.

 

“I need your help.”

 

Vinny froze and looked at him.  She didn’t actually say anything.  She hadn’t left, but she was staring at his teeth with a deer in the headlights look on her face.

 

Kevin closed his eyes and then held a hand in front of his mouth, blocking her view of his teeth as he continued.  “My shell is drying out. I can’t go buy lotion for myself. I am not a person, legally, and so anyone who can stuff me into their car can steal me.”

 

“What kind of lotion do you need?  I have some you could borrow.”

 

OK, that was a good start.

 

He shook his head behind his hand.  “I need something that is non toxic if eaten.  Usually something in the natural products in the baby section works.”

 

He could see Vinny thinking.  He wasn’t entirely sure that was going to be a good thing.

 

“If you have to worry about getting stolen, does that mean you can’t ever leave the house?”  Kevin froze. Yes, fuck, he had been living under what was effectively house arrest for the last few years, but damned if he was going to admit that. Vinny wasn’t finished thinking, “Is that why you didn’t come out for dinner after the house maintenance day?”

 

And, the thing was, Kevin didn’t want to be a jerk.  He just wasn’t prepared to answer those questions. “Nevermind, I’ll get someone else to help!” he snapped.  Then he pulled his shell around him and stumbled down the stairs. The last thing he needed was her feeling sorry for him.  Screw it! He would ask Kogan to pick something up on the way home from work. He made a point of blocking out how sick he had been the last time Kogan bought stuff for him.  Neither of them had read that it contained mineral oil. It would be fine! Maybe he could use Thea’s credit card and just order off of amazon or-

 

Vinny called after him, “I’ll add it to the grocery list!”

 

Kevin skipped breakfast until Vinny had left the house.  He finally went to the fridge and removed his carton of hard boiled eggs.  When he closed the door, Bazur was on the other side watching him. Kevin jumped and dropped the carton.   He snarled and cut loose with a string of curses that made even the gargoyle blush.

 

“You know any of us would bring you anything you need, right?” Bazur said softly.

 

Kevin gritted his teeth.  “Yeah. But there is a difference between hiring someone to shop for me and being dependant on you.”

 

Bazur considered this, “Did you tell her that’s what you were doing?”

 

“I didn’t get to the part where I was going to give her money.”

 

Bazur watched as Kevin picked up his egg carton and carried it to the table.  As Kevin inspected the eggs to pick the ones with the most damage, Bazur said quietly, “She’s just a normal person.  You don’t have to hide from her. The more you talk to her, the easier it will be.”

 

Kevin tensed, “I don’t like people… outside of some very particular circumstances.  You know where I was before I came here. There is nothing to stop her from taking me.”

 

Bazur frowned, “Well, aside from us not letting that happen, Vinny is not an asshole.  She isn’t looking to set up a smuggling operation involving half starved, completely abused mimics.”

 

“Humans are all the same.  They walk through the world completely self absorbed and don’t think about how their actions impact anyone else.”

 

\----

 

Kevin was reading in his room when Vinny knocked on his door.  He ignored her. She knocked again, then hesitantly opened the door.  “Kevin? I got you a couple of different options for moisturizer. I’m not sure you are going to like any of them, but they are returnable if we don’t open them.”

 

He stayed in his shell, but asked, “What did you get?”

 

Vinny pushed the door open and looked around the room.  There wasn’t anywhere to sit, so she leaned against the doorway.  “It was the edible part that was the problem. The first pharmacist I talked to - “

 

Kevin gritted his teeth and interrupted, “You talked to the pharmacist about me?”

 

Vinny stopped.  She took a deep breath and blew it out.  “I just asked what was a safe moisturizer for someone who might lick it.  She suggested coconut oil. Do you think that will work?”

 

“I don’t like the smell.”

 

Vinny nodded and started to say something, then blushed, closed her mouth and turned to leave.

 

“What was the other thing?” Kevin asked.

 

“Nothing.”

 

“You said a couple of options.  What was the other one?”

 

“You are already in a bad mood.  I don’t want to make it worse.”

 

Kevin considered this, “Now I am curious.”

 

“OK…  so I looked at their baby stuff and I couldn’t find anything that was food safe.  But um… they have paw and nose lotion for….” She trailed off.

 

“You bought me dog lotion,” he said flatly.

 

Vinny swallowed, “You said natural baby products.  But even then they have preservatives in them that didn’t sound editable.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“It’s made with hemp butter and aloe, it’s all natural.  You have to keep it in the fridge after you open it because there aren’t any preservatives.  And since it is made to go on puppy noses, it doesn’t really have a smell that I could notice.”

 

“You opened the package?”

 

“Yeah, I figured if you didn’t want it, I could use it.  It’s pretty nice.”

 

Kevin thought about that.  “There is money in the dresser, take what you need to cover the cost.” 

 

“Um… why don’t you try it out and see what you think first,”  she suggested.

 

It pained him to say it, but he muttered, “Thank you,” before going back to focusing on his book and ignoring her,

 

She didn’t leave.  No, Vinny just stood there watching him.

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t understand why you eat lotion.”

 

“I don’t eat lotion!”

 

“Right!  Sorry!” she turned to leave.

 

“Wait.” he said softly. She stopped.  He considered how to explain this. “My shell… it’s the outside of my body.  So my hands are more like an interior skin. So, stopping thinking like a humie and imagine having to apply lotion with your tongue.  It isn’t quite like that, but pretty damn close.”

 

“It is something you can get someone to help with?”

 

“Are you offering to rub lotion into my shell?”

 

Vinny froze.  “That depends.  Is it like giving a friend a mani-pedi?  Or more like giving a friend a hand job?”

 

“What’s a mannypeddy?”

 

Vinny frowned, “Doing someone’s nails?  I mean it’s the only part of me that I can image being described as a shell.”

 

Kevin hesitated.  From what he could tell, it was about halfway in between, since on humans the only part the significantly changed shape was their dicks.  It wasn’t really a reproductive thing, but then a hand job wasn’t a reproductive thing either. It was still incredibly intimate.

 

“It isn’t a sex thing,” he mumbled.

 

“But you aren’t happy with me helping,”  Vinny suggested. “Do you need me to get one of the other guys?”

 

Kevin gritted his teeth.  “I’m not particularly happy with asking anyone to help me.”

 

“What do wild mimics do?”

 

Kevin blinked, “Different diet, more exercise.”

 

Vinny tried to consider that.  What she said was, “Look, you have a reputation for being a prankster.  But if if this is a real thing and you are ok one of the others watching, I could rub lotion into your shell.”

 

This time Kevin came out of his shell, once again being a humanoid with a wooden chest crotch cover.  He looked at her, “What are you getting out of this?”

 

Vinny shook her head.  “Nothing! Except that maybe you will be a little friendlier if you aren’t itchy.”  She stopped and headed to the door. “Look, if you don’t want my help, that’s fine. I’m just trying to be nice.”

 

With that she left.

 

Kevin had to think about all of that.  He wanted her help. He wasn’t quite ready to ask.

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Dren didn’t really care who they got as long as they kept him fed and kept the house clean enough that dirt wouldn’t stick to his feet as he walked through.  His job title might be occupational therapist but he spent a significant part of the day with people using him as a stim toy and he came home all touched out and needing quiet time to decompress.

 

Vinny could cook and somehow managed to get the guys to clean up after themselves.  That was good enough for him.

 

Today, he was a little late.  Someone had ground crackers into his surface and there was no way he was going home without showering first.  He was surprised when he got home and found an extra seat at the table. He was not up to guests. He decided to ignore it as he hung up his clothes at the front hall closet.

 

Vinny bounced over looking a little stressed and slightly manic.  “Hi! I’m so glad you are home! Your nephew got here early and the poor little guy is really shy.  But I set him a place at the table and we are all ready to go!”

 

Dren stared at her.  Kogan stared at her. Derick looked appalled.

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t have a nephew,” Dren said slowly.

 

Vinny frowned, “But Kevin said…” she trailed off as her ears caught up to what she said.  Then she pointed at the big glass bowl on the table. “That isn’t your nephew?”

 

Dren shook his head.  Derick cleared his throat.  “That’s a bowl of orange jello.”

 

Vinny narrowed her eyes, then moving faster than Dren would have guessed, she bent down, scooped up a pair of shoes and threw them one after the other hard enough to scuff Kevin.  “You ASSHOLE!” she screamed. They were all trying not to laugh but it wasn’t really working.

 

Vinny looked over at them and was just looked so embarrassed.  She had blushed bright red, her eyes were shiny with tears and she just mumbled something about dinner being on the table and they could start without her.

 

Then she turned and ran up the stairs.

 

Dren closed his eyes.  He turned to the dining room.  “Kevin? How are you going to make this up to her?”

 

Kevin was currently a trunk and he just shrugged his handles, “It was just a joke.”

 

Dren scrubbed his face with his hands.  He was not in the mood to deal with this.  “Yeah. That you made at her expense.”

 

Kevin just muttered, “It was funny.  Can’t she take a joke?”

 

Dren turned and walked up the stairs while Derick explained that it would also just be a joke if she put pink dye in his wood oil, but that he would likely be as impressed with that as she was with this.

 

He got up to the third floor and looked for something to knock on her door with.  His hands were too squishy just now to manage to make much noise. In the end he just said, “Knock, knock.  Can I come in?”

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

She was sitting in the corner with her fists clenched.

 

“Kevin is an asshole and I’m sorry he did that to you.”

 

Vinny shook her head and wiped her eyes.  “I feel like an idiot.”

 

Dren shrugged, “You just haven’t met many-”

 

“NO!  Not even that!  I didn’t believe him at first, but he was so sincere and I thought that since I had been helping him with his shell, that maybe we were friends now.  But after that, I feel like he was just using me and I wonder if he has just been exploiting me this whole time.”

 

Dren felt sick.  “Wow. Um, shell care is something that mimics need or they end up with chronic pain.  I didn’t know you were helping him with that. That makes tonight …really messed up. He’s trying to run you off so that you won’t help him.”

 

Vinny gritted her teeth.

 

Dren continued, “It’s up to you what you want to do about this, but it would help the rest of us if you told him how you feel betrayed and that he abused your trust.  Otherwise he is just going to complain that you overreacted.”

 

Vinny nodded and stormed down the stairs.  Even from the third floor, he could hear her shouting.

 

“Have you ever not lied to me?  If you dicked me around about this - how can I believe anything you say?  That has to be ten boxes of jello! You can go out and get fucking jello but not shell goop?  I am such an idiot! I believed that whole bullshit story!” And her she said the thing that made Dren pay attention.  “I thought you were actually trusting me, so I trusted you back. But that wasn’t it, was it? Was it all some sick scheme to make me touch you?”

 

That was interesting.  She had made it what it was, a trust issue.  If she had said she thought she was helping or that she was taking care of him, then she would be speaking from a position of power in the relationship.  But as the person who was conned, the fault was clearly Kevin’s.

 

Which it was.   But Kevin wouldn’t have seen it that way.  He would see it as her holding power over him and him taking that back.

 

“Do you have any idea how used and betrayed I feel right now?  Does that even matter to you?” 

 

There was a long moment of silence.

 

“Well?  Say something!”

 

Still nothing. “Fine!”  Then the door slammed.

 

Dren carefully closed the door to Vinny’s room and headed down to eat dinner.  There was no sign of the girl. The slow cooker full of beef stew and the fresh buttermilk biscuits were delicious.  The crew ate in silence.

 

——

 

Dren was sitting in his room while the others were busy out of the house when Vinny came home.  He stopped her on her way up the stairs. “Supper was lovely, did you get something to eat?”

 

She shook her head, “I seem to have lost my appetite.”

 

Dren considered this.  “You look like you need to hit something.”

 

“Maybe,” she admitted.  “The angry walk around the neighbourhood didn’t help.”

 

Dren held out his arms.  “It’s ok, you won’t hurt me.”

 

Vinny looked confused then upset.  “I’m not going to hit you!”

 

“It’s really ok.  It is basically my job.” 

 

She just looked confused.

 

“I help people find tools to make their environments safer for them.  But they are often angry and hitting me doesn’t actually hurt me, so-”

 

Vinny frowned, “That doesn’t sound right.  Gelatinous can feel pain.”

 

Dren looked away, “Yeah, but it doesn’t do any lasting damage.”

 

“Wow.  That is horrible.”

 

He shook his head.  “It really isn’t. I get the most frustrated violent kids and I am able to find them tools to cope.  It is very rewarding.” She gave him a look. “And only sometimes painful,” he added. He waved her in and offered her the other chair.  “Do you know what you are going to do about Kevin?”

 

“Besides not trusting him again? No.  I’m pissed but I’m not going to quit over it.  But… look, for the first three or four weeks I was here, he didn’t say a single word to me.  I am fine going back to that.”

 

Dren nodded slowly.  Kevin’s door was open, so Dren knew he was listening.  “What if he apologized?”

 

Vinny shrugged, “Do you really think he will?”

 

Dren considered this.  “I don’t actually know.  I’m not sure what he said about shell care, but he really was trusting you to let touch him like that.”

 

Vinny chewed her lip, “That’s what is currently worrying me.  I thought it was just like… I don’t know, rubbing someone’s shoulders.  Now I’m afraid it is some sex thing.”

 

Dren considered this.  “I don’t think so. I come home from work all touched out.  But no one touches Kevin. I think he’s starved for attention.”

 

Vinny looked thoughtful, but when she spoke it wasn’t what he was expecting.  “So what do you do when you are all touched out?”

 

Dren laughed.  “I come up here and melt.  That’s the point of the bathtub.  I can just relax.” Then he snorted, “Or I play with the stim gels myself and the guy tease me it’s porn.  It isn’t,” he hastened to add. “It is different having people poke and prod me than having me touch someone else. But unless I want to moonlight as a massage therapist, there isn’t really away to get physical contact without the person touching you back.”

 

Vinny snorted, “Yeah, well anytime you want to practice those massage skills, just let me know.  This place is definitely making me tense.” She reached over and rubbed the crook of her neck.

 

Dren snorted.  “Come here. Sit on the floor and I’ll do that.”  She wasn’t kidding, her neck, shoulders and back were a mess of knots.

 

Vinny gave a little moan, “I feel like I am taking advantage of you.”

 

Dren snorted, “Stim toys don’t hold up their end of the conversation.”

 

“I’m not sure I do a much better job.  Hey, if you want to touch someone without being touched, why don’t you take care of Kevin’s shell?”

 

Dren snorted, “Once I get lotion on myself, I can’t get it off.  It doesn’t soak in like it does on wood or skin. Anything I absorb, I digest.”

 

Vinny nodded, “Another food safety issue.”

 

“Pretty much.  That’s one of the things I have in common with Kevin.  Along with, we can both change shape and we are both less humanoid than the others.”

 

“I don’t know, you look pretty human to me.”

 

Dren shook his head again, “Only when I concentrate.”

 

“Dren?  Thanks for listening to me.”

 

“Any time, Vinny.  But you should really go get something to eat, then let Derick take over this job.”

 

He waited for her to go, then he closed the door, climbed into the tub and just let go.  He sloshed into a puddle and lay there for a moment before falling asleep.

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

 

Kogan waited for Vinny to get ready for church.  He wondered if she knew she was starting to smell like werewolf.  Derick had aspirations. Kogan wasn’t sure what to think of that.

 

“You know, if there is one thing I really appreciate about getting a ride to church on your bike it is the excuse not to have to wear a dress every single time.” Vinny declared, pulling on the new leather jacket he had bought just for this very purpose.

 

Kogan snorted.  For how good her ass looked in the leather pants he was sure she was making half the congregation sin just walking to the place.  Not that the cute dresses she swished around her thighs had been any better. He wasn’t about to point that out.

 

She was watching him thoughtfully.  “Did you go to mass every week before you promised my mom to drive me?”

 

“Yes.” He tossed her a helmet.

 

She caught it but looked nervous.  “Why?” she asked, then quickly added, “I mean… look, the catholic church is very clear that you… that non humans don’t have a soul.  It isn’t even like the homophobia where they just won’t let people in the club, they don’t even consider you people.”

 

“I know.”

 

“So, why?” her face was red and she was fidgeting with the helmet and looking at the floor.

 

“Why do you?  I know you don’t agree with the abortion policy.  Or the homophobia.”

 

Vinny just shrugged.  “Because it’s what my family does on Sunday.  I can follow mass on autopilot and just ignore it until it is after mass hospitality.”

 

Kogan nodded, “I like the architecture and the music and someone has to keep an eye on what the local humie population is saying about us.”

 

“You have a rosary tattoo.  That seems pretty committed.”

 

Now he chuckled, “Orcs are matrilinear.  The rosary is a nice reminder that christianity has an unacknowledged goddess that people worship and pretend it is different than the heathens.”

 

Vinny nodded solemnly.

 

“You and Derick.” Kogan said it simply and waited for her to respond.  All he got was a raised eyebrow. “How is that going to work?”

 

“I don’t know.  We will have to wait and see.”

 

“What I mean is, premarital sex is a big no-no in the church.  And that is where he is headed. If you aren’t you need to tell him that soon.”

 

Vinny sighed.  “That is a much longer discussion and we are going to be late.”

 

———

 

After church, Kogan made a stop at a coffee shop.  He paid too much for a coffee and bought her a too sweet, too creamy monstrosity masquerading as a coffee variation.  He also picked out a couple of panini. Once they were at the table, he took a swig of his drink. “I have time for that discussion now.  And we aren’t somewhere your family or mine can over hear us.”

 

Vinny blinked, “Kogan?  Is this the shovel talk?”

 

He sipped his coffee again, “I haven’t decided which one of you needs that yet.”

 

“OK,” she started, then stopped and chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment.  “Look, philosophically speaking, before birth-control abstinence was the only way to control STIs and pregnancy.  Sex was inherently dangerous when dying in childbirth was a thing and their weren’t even antibiotics. Never mind all that bullshit about … well, being patrilinear and men being worried about continuing their genetic line.”  She stopped long enough to take a drink and unwrap her sandwich. Then in a rush she said, “None of those reasons are actually relevant anymore,” before taking a big bite of her panini so that she couldn’t keep talking with her mouth full.

 

Kogan considered this.  “That is the philosophical argument.  How does it apply to you and Derick?”

 

“I don’t know what I’m doing with Derick.  I like him, he’s a great guy. We haven’t exactly made it to the sleep over point yet.  It means that if we do get there, you can be damned sure I will take precautions.”

 

Kogan nodded.  “I understand what you are saying, but he has already slept on your bed.  Just because he looks different doesn’t mean it isn’t him. You don’t owe him anything, but if this is a ‘let’s be friends’ situation it would be good to make sure he knows that.”

 

Vinny blinked.  “Yeah. I guess I need to think about things.”

 

“Flying by the seat of your pants doesn’t really work when you are going to end up still living in the same house with him if things go bad,”  Kogan pointed out. The coffee really was crap, but the sandwich was good.

 

Vinny was chewing while looking out the window with a slight frown.

 

“Finish up and we will head back to the house.”

 

Vinny nodded and popped the last bite of sandwich in her mouth.  After she swallowed she said, “If you had a car, it would have a cup holder.”

 

Kogan laughed, “If you had a car, you wouldn’t need to complain about my bike.”

 

Vinny’s face went carefully blank and she looked away.  Kogan realized that if she had a car, she wouldn’t need to work for them.  She took a long drink from her coffee then reached across the table and took the sunglasses he had hanging on his shirt.  She put them on and tossed her hair and said, “Let ride.”

 

Kogan shook his head and laughed again.

 

——

 

Vinny was young.  Orcs age differently than humans and Kogan was having to constantly remind himself that Vinny was young.  He hoped she was old enough to recognize how the werewolf’s eyes lit up as soon as she walked into a room.  She wouldn’t have anyway to compare before, but Kogan had certainly noticed that Derick was a lot more social since she had moved in.    Derick was an odd duck. Werewolves needed to be part of a pack and while Kogan had never gotten the whole story, he knew there was lots of bad blood between the local pack and Derick.  Petty childish stuff like them making fun of his tattoo. And that time they had egged the house. Derick wouldn’t have pressed charges, but Bazur owned the place and he had no hesitation.

 

Of course that hadn’t helped Derick’s situation.

 

“How was service?  Do you feel all holy?” Derick asked her as they came into the foyer.

 

Kogan snorted.  

 

Vinny laughed, “So holy.  Wanna watch a movie and drink beer until I get over it?”

 

Derick grinned, “I could handle that.”

 

Kogan still hadn’t decided who needed the shovel talk.  Maybe he should pull the pup aside and have a quiet word later.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update until next Friday!


	9. Chapter 9

 

Tristan was washing breakfast dishes as Vinny and Derick went out on their regularly scheduled run.  “Fuck, I miss having sex!” He wasn’t expecting to have anyone listening to him so the chorus of agreement came as a surprise.  He looked over his shoulder to find pretty much everyone else looking out the window, watching Vinny’s ass as she jogged away from the house.

 

Kogan cleared his throat, “You have no idea how good she smells, how good she feels all rubbed up against my back on the bike.  What it’s like being between those legs and knowing they aren’t for me.”

 

Kevin shrugged, “Derick’s a werewolf.  He would share.”

 

Kogan and Bazur glared at him.  Bazur said, “that isn’t his call, it’s hers.”

 

Kevin shrugged again, “He would be ok with it though.”

 

Tristan pulled his hands out of the dish water and wiped them on the towel so that he could face Thea.  “Did you figure out how to talk to her yet?”

 

Thea looked around nervously, “I say hi. She says hi.  I asked her how her day was. She tells me. She asked me how I’m doing and I panic.  Then I run away like ninety percent of the time.”

 

“That’s a no then,” Kogan said flatly.

 

Tristan considered how ashamed Thea looked, “I don’t know.  It sounds like progress to me.”

 

Thea was glaring at Kogan, “Look!  Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep from dropping webbing around her?  Women don’t look at me! Mostly they scream and run away. It’s not like I have experience with this sort of thing!”

 

Now Tristan snorted, “Trust me, experience is overrated.  I had some random woman ‘accidentally’ grab my balls in the produce aisle yesterday.  I like the having enough money to be retired part, but the world knowing what I did to get it isn’t that great.”

 

They were all staring at him in horror.  Thea asked, “How does someone accidentally grab your balls?” at the exact same time as Kevin asked, “Was she cute?”  Which was mere seconds before Bazur kicked Kevin.

 

Tristan decided to just ignore that whole exchange and said, “I wish they would just fuck and get it over with.  All this dancing around the idea is driving me nuts.”

 

Kogan shook his head, “You say that now, but what do you think it will be like listening to the bedsprings squeak and having to smell them on each other? ”

 

There was a long moment of silence while they all considered this.

 

Kevin grumbled, “At least when you get horny, you can pick some woman up in the produce aisle. The only person rubbing my duck is me.”

 

Dren snorted, “That’s a personality issue more that any thing.”

 

Tristan went back to washing the dishes, blocking out the scuffle behind him.

 

——

 

Kogan was right about the listening in.  From what he could tell, Vinny’s bed was more or less right over his.  He was looking at seed catalogs and plotting out some planting options for a client when her phone rang.  He could only hear her side of the conversation, but it was apparent that she was picking up an extra shift at work tomorrow.  Moments later she came bounding down the stairs.

 

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” he teased.

 

Vinny grinned, “I got offered an extra shift at work tomorrow!  I can even take it, as long as I buy the stuff for supper tomorrow now.”

 

Tristan nodded.  There were enough of them that even the new fridge pretty much only held a day’s worth of food. “I’ll drive you.” 

 

Vinny looked torn. “I don’t want to bother you when you are working.”

 

Tristan nodded.  “Yeah, but it’s always a hell of a lot of groceries for you to juggle on the bus.”

 

Now she just looked embarrassed.  She started to say something, then stopped, blushed and nodded.

 

Tristan stood up.  “Trucks out back.”

 

It was a cliche, but Tristan drove a dually three quarter ton with the lift kit to make it a good height for him to work with.  He wasn’t the lightest guy around, plus he used it to haul trees and rocks for work. He needed the payload. In his case, the truck was painted the matte black of primer.  It suffered enough graffiti that he needed to be able to do his own touch ups.

 

He followed Vinny out to the garage that was accessible through the back alley.  She was able to get the door open on her own but was then stuck trying to figure out how to climb into the seat when he didn’t have running boards.   He hadn’t ever thought about that before. He watched as she tried to find something to hang onto to pull herself up. “Need a boost?”

 

“Um…” she had one hand on the interior door handle and one foot up on the truck floor but an experimental bounce showed she wasn’t going to be able to pull herself up.  She put her foot down and looked at him, “Yes, please.”

 

He suppressed a snort of laughter.  “Ok, butt towards the seat. I’ll grab your waist, you grab my shoulders.  I will lift and set you on the seat, then you can swing your feet in, got it?”

 

“Yup.”

 

He had to do a fairly deep squat for her to reach his shoulders, but it went fairly smoothly.  He hadn’t ever been that close to her before. She might be grinning at him, but her hands were shaking a little.  After she was seated, she reached for the door. He caught her before she fell out. “You just worry about your seat belt.  I’ll be a gentleman and get the door.”

 

Now she laughed, “Thank you, kind sir.”

 

She was fidgeting awkwardly as he pulled out of the garage, so he asked, “What’s on the menu for tomorrow?”

 

“I was going to do a stir fry, because it’s fast and I won’t have a lot of time when I get home.”

 

Tristan nodded.  When Vinny made stir fry she used every burner on the stove.  One for a massive pot of rice and three for woks. Then people to serve themselves meat, if they wanted it and veg from each of the two woks.  One for crispy like carrots and pea pods and the other for soft like mushrooms and bok choy. It was always delicious.

 

Tristan parked a little way from the door.  Before he turned the engine off he put a hand on Vinny’s arm.  “Let me help you out. It’s a long way down and you won’t be working with a sprained ankle.”

 

Vinny chuckled, “Oh, come on!  That is such a cliche!” Then she opened the door and looked down.  “Um. I take that back. I would take the help.” As Tristan walked around to the other side she asked, “Don’t these things usually come with a step?”

 

“Yup.  It’s an optional add on, but this is fine for me and makes it harder to steal.”  The guys were right, she smelled good. She was oblivious to the people watching them walk in to the store together.  Tristan wasn’t. People always associated Minotaurs with either teamsters or porn. He could feel them looking between Vinny and him trying to figure out which he was.  What she was. Fuck. He should have gotten one of the others to drive her.

 

Once in the store, Vinny ripped the list in half and gave him the smaller half.  He looked at it. She had taken the part with the meat and sauces on it and left him the vegetable section.  Which was fine until he was inspecting the onions and felt a hand on his ass. 

 

It was followed immediately by Vinny saying in a loud voice, “What the HELL do you think you are doing?”

 

Tristan turned to face the heavily made up fifty year old from last time staring at Vinny in shock.

 

“Excuse me?  How dare you talk to me like that, young lady!”

 

“I won’t excuse you!  You were sexually assaulting my friend!”

 

Now the woman smirked, “Oh, he’s your ‘friend’ is he?”  She even did the air quotes.

 

Vinny was ignoring her.  She was looking at Tristan.  “This store has closed circuit cameras.  Do you want to press charges? You would have an excellent case.”

 

Tristan looked at her, then down at the woman who was suddenly pale under her makeup.  “Not if she leaves,” he rumbled.

 

The woman bolted.  Vinny looked at him in concern, “Are you OK?”

 

Tristan nodded.

 

“God!  That was terrible! The nerve of some people!  I swear the last time some asshole did that to me I turned and punched him!  Afterwards, I wished I would have just pressed charges.”

 

He considered that.  “Does it happen to you very often?”

 

Vinny shrugged and started bagging some red onions, “Too often.  A couple of times a year. Cat calling a few times a week. Jackass stalker that doesn’t get that I don’t want to date him at least one a semester.”

 

Tristan nodded.  “I don’t really get the stalker thing, but cat calls are pretty much a daily thing.  Groping…” he shrugged, “I dunno. Couple of times a week.”

 

Vinny frowned, “That’s horrible!”

 

Tristan shrugged.  “Nothing I can do about it.  If I pushed her away from me the judge wouldn’t side with the big guy who shoved a small human housewife.”

 

Vinny just looked sad.  “Let’s go pay for this stuff and get home.  People suck.”

 

Tristan nodded, “Most of them, yeah.”

 

After they paid, he helped her back into the truck, then sat in silence for a moment before saying, “Thank you for standing up for me.  That woman never even considered that I could press charges until you spoke up.”

 

“That’s what friends are for.”

 

Tristan started the truck.  “Derick is a lucky guy.”

 

Vinny laughed, “People keep saying that, but he hasn’t gotten lucky yet.”

 

Tristan was concentrating on driving but he still said, “He gets to spend time with you.  That’s pretty damn lucky.”

 

——

 

The next day he went to go bid on a job and the husband showed him around the yard, talking about all the work his wife wanted.  Tristan nodded and took notes. Then they went into the kitchen to discuss. The wife was there. He was shocked to see it was the woman from the grocery store.  He immediately tripled the amount he was going to quote to the husband.

 

She agreed.

 

“And I won’t be able to start until spring,” he added.

 

She nodded amicably.

 

The husband hesitated, “We’ll get back to you.”

 

——

He didn’t say much getting supper ready.  That wasn’t unusual for him. He was regularly pissed off at how the world worked.  Vinny’s grumpiness was unexpected.

 

Derick was at work.  Bazur came down to eat, took one look at Vinny’s black expression and went back to his room to get pants.

 

Tristan nodded to her as he set the table, “What’s wrong?”

 

Vinny tensed, “Some neck beard slapped my ass when I brought him his food.  It put a crimp in my whole day, especially since it was Barry working as the manager today and he didn’t even ask the guy to leave.”

 

Tristan considered this, “Need me to beat him up for you?”

 

Vinny snorted, “Who?  Barry or the customer?”

 

Tristan shrugged.

 

After food was cleared and the dishes were watched, Tristan went to the TV room and to watch Big Dreams Small Space on Netflix.  He was just settling in with a mug of tea and his notebook when he heard Vinny come in.

 

“Mind if I join you?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

He wasn’t expecting for her to sit right next to him and have a little cry, but he was fully prepared to put an arm around her shoulders and pull his lap blanket over to cover her legs as well.

  
  



	10. Chapter 10

It was four am by the time Derick made it home from work.  His usual plan was to shower, eat breakfast with the crew, go running with Vinny then tuck in for the day.  That meant that he was up and ready to go by the time she got home from her day.

 

Most of the time.  If something major was happening at the bar he would sometimes have to go in.   Last night had been a health inspection. The Howl had passed with flying colours.  There was no way he was going to let any bullshit happen in a kitchen he owned. Not when he could smell it.  But it did mean he had to be there to sign off on the report and post the new permit.

 

There was no way around it.  It had been a twelve hour shift.  Better him than a human but he was still really keyed up and jittery.  He put the kettle on and headed to the TV room, figuring he had a couple of hours to kill before the rest of the house was up.

 

He wasn’t expecting to find the TV in screen saver mode with Tristan and Vinny passed out in a tangled heap.  He stared for a moment as jealousy flared around him and he fought for control.

 

Tristan’s ear flicked.

 

The minotaur snorted then opened his eyes to see Derick trying not to be hurt.  Tristan quickly shook his head. “She had a shit day at work,” he whispered. “She didn’t want to be alone.”

 

Immediately whatever he had up to that moment been feeling was gone.  Derick was now fully concerned. “What happened?” he whispered back.

 

“Someone got handsy.”

 

Derick started to growl.  Vinny began to stir on Tristan’s chest.  Derick forced himself to stop.

 

Instead he knelt next to the couch and rubbed her back, “Shh, go back to sleep.  It’s too early to be awake.”

 

She blinked and rubbed her eyes before focusing of Derick.  Yawning she reached for him. “Take me to bed please.”

 

Derick blinked.  She didn’t need to tell him twice.  He scooped her up bridal style and was pleased when she snuggled her face into his neck.  “I got you,” he said softly.

 

Vinny nodded as she settled sleepily against his chest.  “Kogan gave me the shovel talk last week.”

 

Derick snorted, “Yeah.  Me too.” They were almost to her room and he was faced with having to set her down to open the door.  “I can tuck you right into your bed if you can run the door knob.”

 

“Um-hmm.” She got the door open with minimum fuss.  “Can you stay?”

 

Derick smiled sadly, “I need to eat before I can change for you.”

 

“Can you stay like this?”

 

His heart skipped a beat, “That I can do.”

 

After he set her on the bed she wiggled out of her jeans, pulled her sock off and did the clothing voodoo thing where a woman can take off her bra but not her shirt.  Fuck, those things were hard enough to get open when he could see what he was doing. He had no idea how anyone could open the hooks with their arms twisted behind their back like that.  

 

She was giving him a calculating look.  “You would be more comfortable if you took your jeans off.”

 

Derick swallowed, “Would you be more comfortable if I left them on?”

 

Vinny shrugged and rolled over so that her back was towards him.  “It’s up to you. At some point, I’m going to want to negotiate for friends with benefits.  But not today.”

 

Derick grinned before shucking his pants and his shirt and spooning up behind the girl.  He could smell her shampoo, which was nice. He could also smell a faint trace of Tristan which was a surprisingly effective cock block for him.

 

——

 

It was too early when Vinny’s alarm went off.  “I’m cancelling running!” she announced as she hit the off switch.  Derick nodded sleepily, nuzzling her hair as he pulled her back against him.

 

——

 

The next time Derick woke, Vinny was gone.  It was probably just as well because at some point he had spooned her pillow.  He had been humping it in his sleep. He whined as he forced himself to stop. He was painfully hard, his balls full and tight.  He lay there thinking about what she had said about friends with benefits. 

 

His face flooding with shame, he eased her pillow between his legs.  It only took two more thrusts and he went off like a fire hose, frantically pulling her pillow away as he painted the inside of his shorts.  He squeezed his eyes shut. He was not some animal who needed to mark his territory. He knew better. Vinny was her own person. It would always be her decision not his.  

 

However much it pained him to admit it.  The werewolf part of him had won. His release all the sweeter knowing he was claiming her bed for himself.

 

The part of him that was still human was horrified by this.  He needed to get up and wash her sheets.

 

———

 

Kevin was home when Derick came down the stairs carrying an armful of sheets and blankets.  Stuffed in the very middle was his shorts and her pillow. He scowled at the chest on the third floor landing, “Don’t you say anything.”

 

The chest just snickered.

 

——-

 

Vinny came home from work, dropped her purse on the hall tree and bounced into the kitchen to make supper.  She ignored the new kitchen island as she pulled out the chicken for supper. Once the over was preheating she said, “Are you sure choosing a butcher block top was really the smartest idea in this circumstances?”

 

One of the bottom drawers opened and Vinny looked down to see Kevin’s eyes peering up at her.  “Derick had to wash your sheets when he got up.”

 

Vinny blushed.  Then she kicked him.  “First of all, that is none of your business.  Second, we didn’t do anything, yet. He was probably just worried about shedding or something.”

 

“Hmm.”  Kevin didn’t say anything else as she took down the kitchen shears and prepared to spatchcock the chickens. “I’m bored.”

 

Vinny turned to look at him.  She raised an eyebrow. “And you expect me to entertain you?”

 

The island shuffled slightly.  “I’m trying to be helpful here.  I mean, please don’t go after me with a cleaver, but if you need more counter space, I’m your man.”

 

She blinked, unaware that she was effectively batting her eyelashes at him.  “Are you serious?”

 

“Yeah.  Grab a cutting board and tell me about your day.”

 

“OK.”  She set the cutting board on his surface.

 

While she was reaching for the full sheet pan that would hold both chickens, Kevin mumbled, “Give me a moment.”  He adjusted his height downwards a few inches. “I forgot how short you are.”

 

“Thanks,” Vinny snarked.

 

A few moments later (as she gave the chicken a chest compression to break its ribs) she repeated herself, this time with surprise and gravitude, “Thanks, Kevin!  That actually is a much better working height.”

 

“So how was work?” when he spoke she could feel the vibrations on his surface.

 

“Better than yesterday.”

 

“Good to hear that,” Tristan rumbled as he came into wash his hands.  He picked up the vegetable peeler and started peeling a carrot.

 

Vinny blushed, “Thanks for taking care of me last night.”

 

Kevin snickered.  Vinny stiffened. Kevin, to Tristan’s surprise, apologized.  “I’m sorry. I have the worst sense of humour.”

 

Tristan snorted, “That’s what happens when you spent too much time alone with your door closed.”

 

“You should talk!” Kevin fired back.

 

“If you are going to fight about porn, I would rather just make dinner on my own.  You can take this discussion out to the TV room or something.” Vinny said flatly.

 

For a moment neither Tristan nor Kevin so much as breathed.  Kevin broke first. “Sorry Vinny.”

 

She nodded and put the first chicken on to the baking sheet.  Then she hesitated, “Why are you being so nice to me? Is this the part where you run off and take supper with you?”

 

Kevin flinched, “What would I do with two raw chickens?”

 

It was Tristan who answered, “The same reason you did that thing with the jello, to go out of your way to make her life more difficult.”

 

Vinny was amazed as the butcher block when from birch to cherry.  

 

“Sorry, Vinny.”

 

He actually sounded like he meant it.  She wasn’t going to tell him it was alright.  She had a brother and could recognize that as a trap.  “Just don’t do it again.”

 

Once dinner was roasting in the oven, she soaped down Kevin’s top.  “Thanks, Vinny.” he said dutifully. 

 

“Just a minute,” she replied, going to the fridge.  She pulled out the nose and pad lotion and hesitated.  “Is this ok? It’s going to be cold.”

 

Kevin froze, he needed to clear his throat before he replied.  “That would be great.”

 

He was trembling slightly as she rubbed it into his surface.  “Sorry, I should figure out how to warm it up first.”

 

“Um… yeah… that would be nice.”

 

——

 

Vinny was up in her room getting cleaned up for dinner.  Kevin was right, there were fresh sheets on her bed. She wasn’t going out again tonight.  Yoga pants, a sports bra and a hoody would do. It was weird, the puppy lotion hadn’t smelled like much of anything, but her hands smelled faintly of bergamot.  Was that Kevin? She would have guess cedar or something. She washed them again anyway before heading downstairs. 

 

Derick was just coming out of his room when she got to the main floor.  “Hey there, gorgeous!”

 

Vinny grinned at him, “Hey yourself!”  She coiled her arms around his neck. “Thanks for doing my laundry.” 

 

Derick just looked uncomfortable.

 

Her smile faded, “Oh… I guess I never thought about how much my bed must stink to someone with the sense of smell of a werewolf.”

 

“You smell amazing to me.”  He leaned in to kiss her.

 

Vinny kissed him back.

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

Vinny was horny.  There wasn’t another way to put that.  And yes, Catholic girls weren’t supposed to think like that or even feel like that, but it was true.  She wasn’t brave or rebellious. This wasn’t some kink she was trying to work through. She was flat out horny and Derick was the guy she was spending the most time with these days.

 

She didn’t have a boyfriend.  She hadn’t in years. They made too many demands for her time and she wasn’t going to throw away her scholarship just to get laid.  Ma had been very clear about the Catholic stance on premarital sex. Aunt Toni, however, had been equally clear on what behaviour you could reasonably expect from an adult woman.  Which was why Vinny had BOB - that is a battery operated boyfriend - but that only worked for the immediate need. There wasn’t any conversation, foreplay or snuggling after.

 

She liked the guys.  All of them, even if Kevin was a bit of an ass and Thea was clearly terrified of her.  She hadn’t understood that at first, but once Derick pointed it out to her, she was amazed that she had missed it.  Where things got really complicated was that she still had to live and work here and she was effectively considering taking advantage of Derick.  Using him for sex. She wanted friendly sex. She just wasn’t sure how she would handle breakfast the next morning. She was aware she was pretty enough, but she also knew that when it came right do to it, guys weren’t as picky as they pretended to be.  Objectively, Derick was safer than picking up a guy in a bar. How would that even work? She wouldn’t be bringing him back here. She was out of Ma’s house, but she was still effectively living with chaperones. 

 

Right now, she was on the couch, cuddled up against Derick with Tristan rubbing her feet.  Both of those things were working for her.

 

Looking around the room, she cuddled a little closer to Derick.  She had given up on trying to make Bazur wear pants. He had some sort of fig leaf effect that worked well enough.  Thea was watching from the ceiling. Kevin was currently the coffee table. It had been weird putting her drink on him.  Kogan had a huge arm chair. Bazur had the other huge armchair. There was no sign of Dren. 

 

Vinny worried about him missing out.  She knew that after supper, he mostly went to read in his bathtub before melting as he drifted off to sleep.  It just felt odd that he was left out of family movie night. Mind you, she wasn’t watching the latest instalment in the Action Hero (tm) franchise.  The first one had been good, an interesting premise at least. Since then they had become bad parodies of the original. Trying to force another story out of the same formula had made them formulaic.

 

As she snuggled tighter against Derick, she noticed his arm hair getting a little fuller.  “Is this ok?”

 

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back.  

 

She looked up, met his gaze, then kissed him full on the lips.  He kissed her back. Kevin ruined the moment by snickering. As she pulled away, Derick leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Anytime you want to continue this, just let me know.”

 

She froze as she thought about that.  Then she took his hand, stood up and pulled him in the direction of his room.  No one said anything, but Vinny was pretty sure the guys all watched them leave.

 

She ended up in Derick’s room, him sitting on the futon, his hands resting lightly on her hips, her hands holding his face while she kissed him.  After a moment she needed to stop, needed to breathe and ground herself. The crook of his neck was the perfect place for her to rest her forehead.

 

Derick stroked her back, “You smell lonely.”

 

“That’s one way of putting it,” Vinny snorted.  Then what he said really sank in. “I guess all those stories about werewolves are true then.”

 

Derick stiffened under her, despite the tension in his shoulders his voice was light. “Probably not,” he teased.  “But, if you tell me what you’ve heard, I can confirm or deny.”

 

Vinny leaned back and looked at him.  “OK. Biting?”

 

“Not my kink.  Can’t speak for everyone, but it does nothing for me.  Either as the biter or the, um, bitee.”

 

“Do you change while you, um-” holy shit, Vinny just say the word, “fuck?”

 

“I can.  Most women don’t want me to.”

 

“Doggy style?”

 

Now he groaned and pushed her back a step.  “I’m not some novelty fuck, Vinny. No. I am not a fan specifically because it’s the thing women want when they don’t care about me they just want to check a kink off their bucket list.”

 

Vinny froze.  “This isn’t a bucket list thing.  But, yeah… I just want a fuck buddy.”

 

Derick nodded, “I like being on my back so I can watch.”

 

Vinny decided to go for an easy one, “So the one about the knot is complete bullshit, right?”  He blushed. “Or not?”

 

“That one is true.  It’s another good reason for me to be on the bottom until we get used to each other.  Consent gets tricky. If we end up tied together, there isn’t a way for you to change your mind and have everything stop without causing a lot of discomfort for us both.  A tie doesn’t last very long. Five or ten minutes. But that is a long time if you really don’t want to be there.”

 

Vinny considered this.

 

“How do you feel about simulaneous hand jobs and cuddles after?”

 

“Sure,” Derick laughed.  “Or, you smell delicious and I have a surprisingly long tongue.”

 

Vinny swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.  She nodded before stepping forward to kiss him.  “Can I touch you?” she asked, tugging at his shirt.

 

Derick grinned and pulled it off.  “Yes. Can I touch you?”

 

Vinny nodded and kissed him again as she ran her hands over his skin.

 

She knew it was a side effect from calories burned shifting, but Derick was lean and muscular in a way that made her want to lick his abs.  She had been expecting him to be hairy or waxed. He was neither. He had a little bit of chest hair and a thin line running from his belly button to the top of his pants.  It was like a perfect arrow drawing her eyes to his crotch.

 

His jeans hung low on his hip and she found her fingers going for his button.

 

“Easy there cowgirl, you are still very much more dressed than I am.”

 

Now she felt a little awkward.  She wasn’t nearly as chiseled as Derick was.  “Don’t laugh.”

 

Derick frowned, “Why would I laugh?”

 

“I wasn’t planning this when I came down from my room.”

 

“Neither was I, but I’m happy to be here.”

 

Vinny didn’t make eye contact as she pulled off her hoodie.  She had enough squish that her sports bra was pressing into her torso a little.  No enough to notice when she was wearing a top, but once she wasn’t it made a slight roll at the bottom.  The easiest thing was to pull that quickly off too. Maybe he wouldn’t notice that her bra didn’t match her panties.

 

“Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”  He said it reverentially almost like a prayer.  Vinny blushed but felt a bit better about how this was going.  “Come here?” He asked it like a question rather than stating it like an expectation.

 

When she did, he watched her face as he carefully cupped her breasts and ran his thumbs over her nipples.  That was nice. She relaxed into his touch.

 

He leaned in and nuzzled her left side with his nose.  When he opened his mouth, she was expecting to suck. In her experience, most men did like they were making up for missed breastfeeding opportunities.  Derick licked, then swirled his tongue before gently dragging his teeth over in in a way that was not biting. It was still very nice. He kissed his way up her neck until he found her mouth again, before hooking his thumbs into her waistband.

 

Then he suddenly leaned back.  “You are going to get cold.” He darted across the room and turned on the gas fireplace. Before laying out the futon and turning back to her.  “It will warm up in a moment.”

 

She nodded and went to sit on the now bed.  “Blankets?”

 

Derick nodded, slowly.  “I would like to see you,” he suggested as he pulled open a wardrobe.

 

Vinny wasn’t entirely sure about that, so she deflected by taking the blanket and spreading it over the bed.  When she turned around he was holding a second one.

 

Nodding to her sweats he smirked, “Let’s get you out of those wet things.”

 

Vinny gaped at him then snorted as she pulled down her pants and panties.  He was right, she was soaked. When she looked up, he was watching her. She blushed a little and came over to where he was laying on the bed.

 

She tugged at his jeans, “Your turn.”

 

He caught her hands and brought them to his shoulders before ghosting his down her sides and sliding one between her legs.  He used a finger to part her lips and gather some moisture. He brought his fingers to his lips and gave it suck. “You are delicious Vinny.  How about I lean back and you can ride my face for a while?”

 

Vinny blinked.  “I haven’t done that before.”

 

“I’ll help.”  Derick lay back on the bed so that his feet were still on the floor and there was room for Vinny around his head.  “Come sit on my chest.”

 

Vinny hesitated, “I’m not exactly light.”

 

Derick grinned, “I’m looking forward to that.  I’m not exactly breakable.” He tugged on her hand and she climbed awkwardly into place.  “You don’t have to do this, but it’s like having someone go down on you, except that you are in control of where they work.”

 

Vinny climbed awkwardly over him on her hands and knees.  She put one foot near his shoulder and tried to sort of lower herself onto his face.

 

“Can I help?” he asked.

 

Vinny nodded.

 

Derrick put one hand on her ass and repositioned her leg so that her knee was near his ear, then switched sides and did the same with her other leg.  Then his hands went to the tops of her thighs and he pulled her firmly against his mouth. This time it was a long lick that parted her lips. Vinny gasped and pulled away.

 

He let her.  “Need me to stop?”

 

Vinny shook her head.  Now it was on her to put herself back.  She put her hands in front of her knees and leaned back into place.  He licked her lips with a loud slurp before finding her clit and sucking hard.  If he hadn’t been holding her thighs she would have pulled back again. He was right,in theory, it wasn’t any different than having someone go down on her.  She suspected her previous partners hadn’t been as good at it as Derick was.

 

She trembled as he unerringly found the right spot and stayed there.  Vinny realized she was rocking without having been aware she was doing it.  He eased her forward a little and slipped his tongue inside. Hie tongue was longer than she was expecting, but that wasn’t where she wanted him.  She rocked forward again. Derick took her hand and moved it to his head. Vinny accidentally gave his hair a tug, then did it again when he moaned his approval.  Her thighs started shaking as the sensations threatened to over take her. Derick took a tighter hold on her thighs and just kept going as her body bucked and Vinny pressed her lips tight to avoid the gasps that wanted out.

 

The second wave of pleasure was only moments behind the first and this time he slowed as she came.   He eased her back to his chest.

 

“That was nice,” he almost purred.

 

Vinny nodded, silently.  The relief was so good she felt like crying.  Derick must have noticed something, because he pulled her down his body and rolled them on to their sides.  “Are you ok?”

 

Vinny gasped and nodded, then as she blinked the tears fell.

 

Derick looked worried, “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry, I didn’t-”

 

“No!  That was perfect and you are perfect and I’m just a little emotional right now.”

 

Derick hugged her tight and rubbed her back.  “You really needed that, huh.”

 

Vinny nodded.

 

“You don’t have to try to be quiet for me, just so you know.”

 

Vinny snorted, “Too many years of living in Ma’s house.  I’m not really sure I want the guys in the TV room next door hearing either.”

 

“That’s fair.  The TV room is pretty sound proof if it helps.”

 

Vinny nodded and wiped her cheeks.  She was appalled to find her mascara had run.

 

“I’ll get you a warm washcloth,” Derick said right before he jumped up and bounded out of the room.

 

Vinny rolled over, cocooning herself in his blanket.

  
  



	12. Chapter 12

 

“Vinny?”

 

Vinny did not want to get up, but she cracked her eyes open a little.

 

“Hey there gorgeous!  I have to go to work now.”  Derick was watching her with a slight smile as he lightly ran his fingers up and down her arm.

 

“Mmm.  Yeah. I just need a moment.  I’ll head back to my room.”

 

“Vinny?  Could I talk you into staying with Kogan tonight?  I don’t want to kick you out of my room and leave you alone.  He would take good care of you. Keep you warm. Keep you safe.  Bring you water or snacks or whatever you need.”

 

Now she sat up, pulling the blanket around her.  “You want me to … what?”

 

Derick smiled, “Just let Kogan take care of you.  Just so you aren’t alone.”

 

Vinny thought about that,  “You are sending me to spend the night with some other guy?”

 

Derick frowned, “Not some other guy!   Kogan. You know him. I know him. He’ll keep you safe.”

 

Vinny hesitated.  Derick sighed. “It’s ok.  I just need a moment to find someone to cover my shift and I’ll be right back.”

 

Vinny shook her head, “Don’t do that.  I’ll be fine.”

 

Derick hugged her close, “I know you will be, but you are going to be little cramped in a couple of hours.   I need you to not be alone for that. I was hoping you would be comfortable enough with him to let Kogan help, but if not, then I will make sure that I can.”

 

“This is really important to you?”

 

Derick nuzzled against her.  “Yeah. It is. Making sure you are taken care of just now is my responsibility.  And I hate that I have to delegate it. Honestly, Vinny, when you brought me back here I felt like the luckiest man in the world.  Work was the last thing on my mind.”

 

“I don’t understand why this is so important to you.”

 

Derick was still rubbing his face in her hair.  “It’s a werewolf thing. I don’t like abandoning you.  But if I leave you with one of my pack mates, that’s different.”

 

She thought about that.  “OK.” She could always go right back to her room after he left, right?

 

Derick beamed at her, “Thank you!” He kissed her passionately, then scooped her up, naked and wrapped in his blanket. 

 

Before she had a chance to react with more than a squeak of surprised, he had passed her into the waiting Kogan’s arm.  With a last, tender kiss to her forehead, he said, “I’ll be back in a few hours. Just keep her safe for me.”

 

Kogan nodded solemnly and carried her up the stairs as Derick hurried off.

 

Once Vinny heard the door close she said, “You can put me down.  I’ll be ok in my own room.”

 

Kogan rumbled softly.  “I promised I would stay with you until he got back.  Your room is fine, but if you kick me out I will have to call him and tell him that.”

 

Vinny frowned up at him.  “Why?”

 

“Because this is important in ways you can’t understand.”

 

Vinny swallowed.  Derick had spent the last hour or more taking care of her and hadn’t let her return the favour.  If he just needed her to be with someone one, she could handle that. “OK.”

 

Kogan stopped outside of his room.  “It would be less upsetting for the pup to have you in here than it would for me to be in your room.”

 

Vinny nodded again.  “Can I get my clothes out of his room? Or something out of my room?”

 

Kogan considered this. “I will get them.  Please don’t run off.”

 

He tucked her into his bed in the darkness of his room and Vinny was asleep before he made it back.

 

——

 

Vinny woke up face down in bed, hugging a pillow.  She yawned and stretched and winced. “Why does my ass hut?”

 

She had been asking the universe, which is why she jumped when Kogan answered.

 

“Ooo!  Not enough lube!”

 

Vinny turned her head to look and saw Kogan sitting up in bed, with a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose, reading a tablet.  Embarrassment fought with shame before indignation won out , “the muscles, idiot!”

 

“Ah!  New position then.  What are you doing?”

 

Vinny, whimpered struggling to sit up replied, “I need to pee.”

 

“Hold on,” Kogan put down his book, reached under the bed and came up with a ceramic pot with a lid.

 

Vinny frowned at it.

 

Kogan rolled his eyes, “It’s clean.”

 

“Why do you have a chamber pot?”

 

“Seven guys, three bathrooms, but it’s a long run down to the basement if the other two are full in the morning.”

 

“Thanks, but I’ll just go use mine.”

 

“C’mon.  I’m old. It will be easier for me to carry the pot up the hall to dump than to carry you up and down the stairs.”

 

“I can walk.”

 

“Uh huh.  I thought your ass hurt.  Even if you make it up the stairs, are you going to get stuck on your toilet and not be able to get up?  That’s an older model. It’s a lot closer to the floor.” While he was talking, Kogan pulled over a foot stool, set the pot on it and pulled Derick’s blanket and thereby Vinny over to his side of the bed.  As she was staring at it, he opened a drawer and pulled out a shirt like a tent and pulled it over her head.

 

Vinny felt like a toddler being dressed as she fought to find the sleeves.

 

“Alright!” Kogan said in a business like matter.  “I’m going to help you stand up. Then if you feel up to walking up a long flight of stairs, off you go.  If you don’t, you can hold on to me, use the pot and I’ll tuck you back into bed. Then I can go empty it, wash my hands and find you an aspirin or something.”

 

Vinny nodded.  

 

Kogan counted “one, two, three!”

 

She was up but her legs were shaking in protest.  She was holding onto his arms so tightly she was probably going to leave him with bruises.  Kogan danced her around and silently lowered her onto the pot. Vinny tried to look anywhere but at him.

 

“You know, when we had the safe sex discussion, I never even considered that this might come up.”

 

Vinny choked then laughed.  As she was peeing, Kogan leaned over and grabbed some tissue for her.  After she was tucked back into bed, he picked up the pot and headed out, pausing on the doorway to say, “I’m going to want details of exactly what he did to you when I get back.”

 

There was enough menace in his voice to prompt Vinny to call out, “Nothing that interesting.”

 

Kogan comes back with a glass of water, a bottle of aspirin and a jar of muscle rub that Vinny recognizes from the gym downstairs.  She took the aspirin as she eyed the jar nervously.

 

“What, exactly, do you think you are going to do with that?”

 

“Help,” he says simply as he sets it on the bedside table.  “Now, dish.”

 

Vinny pulls the covers over her face.  “Nothing! I guess I’m not used to being on top.”

 

“That doesn’t make sense.  How long were you on top?”

 

Vinny blushed and looked away, “A while,”s he hedged.

 

“Alright.”

 

She peeks out from under the covers at him, “Alright?”

 

“Yeah.  What else am I going to say?  It’s your body. Everyone was consenting.  None of my business.” He thought for another moment, then added, “You may want to give away your shift tomorrow, if you can.  Maybe the one after too, if you really can’t walk.”

 

Vinny giggled, “Hey, Barry, I need to call in too sexed up to work.”

 

Kogan shook his head, “Just say you pulled a muscle.  You don’t need to say how. Or is there a coworker that needs the extra work?”

 

Vinny thought about that.  “Yeah. I can text Jenn. Once I can find my phone.”

 

Kogan walked over to the dresser and picked pulled it out of the pocket on her hoodie.

 

Vinny looked at it.  She had eleven missed messages, including one from Derick telling her that he missed her and hoped that Kogan was taking good care of her.  And one from a number she didn’t recognize that was a gif of the eggplant emoji sliding into the peach emoji.

 

 

Vinny frowned.  Then she deleted the picture and blocked the caller.

 

Jenn agreed to take her shift and made a snarky comment about too much running.  Vinny just ignored it.

 

It was after midnight.  She really should go to bed.  Her bed. “Kogan? I need to go to sleep now.  I’m sorry I’m heavy. Could you please see if -”

 

Kogan plucked the phone out of her fingers and gently slid her across the bed.  “Go to sleep. Derick will come get you in a couple of hours when he gets home.”

 

Vinny considered this.  Kogan had a king bed. It wasn’t exactly intimate. The sheets were clean and crisp and the mattress was softer than hers.

 

——-

  
  


When her alarm went off at six, Vinny was hugging Kogan like he was a pillow.  Derick was spooned up behind her, his sunrise salute pressed gently against her.  This was easily the strangest place she had ever woken. It took a moment to see where her phone was.  As she stretched across Kogan to grab it, Derick’s cock dragged across her thigh.

 

“Mmm.  Do that again,” he moaned.

 

Kogan snorted.  “Not unless you are negotiating a threesome.”

 

Vinny blushed.  With the muscle cramps and being pinned between two grade A slabs of male, she wasn’t going anywhere.

 

“Did Kogan take good care of you?”

 

That was a whole other level of awkward.  “Yeah, but we are missing running again.”

 

Derick whooped and hugged her close.  “Good! I am so proud of -” he trailed off as Kogan sat up and shook his head.

 

“What?” Vinny asked.

 

“Um.” Derick stalled.

 

“You left her so cramped up she can hardly stand.  I brought my arthritis cream, but she wasn’t keen on having me apply it.” Kogan explained.

 

Derick frowned, “Kogan gives excellent massages.”

 

Vinny pulled a pillow over her face.  “I can’t talk about this.”

 

A moment later, Derick scooped her up and was carrying her up the stairs.  “I should have stayed. I was really hoping you would let Kogan help.”

 

“You really hoped I would let Kogan rub ointment into my ass?”

 

“Well, yeah.”  He clearly didn’t see the problem with that.

 

“I don’t get it.”

 

“Kogan is my friend, your friend.  I was hoping that if you need something, ANYTHING, you would let us take care of you.  Should I have gotten Tristan instead? I thought you would be happier with Kogan as a backup because you have spent the most time with him.  And he’s old enough to be careful with you.”

 

Vinny blinked as Derick laid her in her bed.  She was trying to read his face because he seemed completely sincere.  Then something hit her. “That story about werewolves having pack marriages is true then, isn’t it?”

 

Derick frowned, “Ah.  I forgot you are catholic.” There was a moment of silence as they both tried to understand the other’s point of view.  Finally, Derick said, “Well, will you let me rub ointment into your ass?”

 

“That would be nice.”

 

It was.  It was so nice she was dripping before he was done.  “I can’t be on top right now.” She mentioned a the warming action kicked in helping her relax.

 

“Neither can I,” Derick sighed.  “Not for the first few times. Do you have any toys we can play with?”

 

Vinny smushed her face into her pillow.  “No one has ever seen my toys but me.”

 

“OK.” He lay down and spooned her.  His cock pressed against her back as he reached around and began stroking her clit.  Vinny wiggled around and pulled a condom out of the bed side table. “Really not a good idea,” he warned.

 

“Easier clean up?  I promised you a hand job.”

 

Now Derick growled.  He snatched the condom from her and rolled it on.  “Can I use your thighs instead?”

  
  



	13. Chapter 13

Vinny realized she could have probably gone into work.  The back of her thighs definitely felt like she as over done the squats at the gym.  On the other hand, she was currently in a king sized bed with a full shift werewolf sleeping in her lap, a minotaur on her left, and an orc on her right.  They were watching He Never Died on Netflix. To her surprise, Tristan kept covering his eyes.

 

“Are you going to be OK?” she asked.  “I didn’t really think about watching this from the point of view of a vegetarian.”

 

Tristan snorted, “You aren’t going to talk me into leaving.  I think I know what it took for you to invite me to be here.”

 

Vinny blushed. 

 

Kogan passed her the popcorn.

 

Tristan was right, letting Kogan take care of her had been hard.  Still she was glad that Derick had pushed her to. Werewolves certainly had that right.  Life was just easier when people took care of each other. Neither of these men were talkers, and that was easier just now.  Derrick she could chat easily with. Dren was nice, but he always sounded exhausted from work. Which was fair, there was no way Vinny could do that job.

 

Thea seemed nice, once she understood that he wasn’t being rude merely impossibly shy.

 

Bazur just seemed distracted.  Honestly, she was at this point half convinced that was why he forgot to wear clothing.

 

That just left Kevin.  Vinny still didn’t know what to think of him.

 

——-

 

No one was weird.  In the days after Vinny’s moment of weakness, amazingly enough, no one had been weird about it.  She had been worried about Kevin, but if he was pranking her, she hadn’t noticed. In fact, he had started hanging out and helping her cook.  

 

She had asked Derick about that one morning while they were on a run.

 

“I think it’s a good thing,” Derick replied.  “He has been housebound for years. It’s good that he is doing something productive.  Not great when your whole life is video games and being inside.”

 

Vinny frowned at that.  “But… he can go outside.  I mean, I get the idea of him being stolen, but surely he could spend time in the backyard.  Maybe help Tristan.”

 

Derick stumbled and started laughing.   He slowed to a walk and doubled over.

 

“What?”

 

“He did help,” Derick wheezed.  “Once. But he planted the three colours of tulip bulbs so that when they bloomed the next year our front bed was a cock and balls in purple on a white background.  With a line of yellow like it was peeing.”

 

Vinny stared at him in shock, then burst out laughing.  “Oh my god! That must have been so much work!”

 

Derick nodded, “Tristan said he was more impressed at the skill than pissed that the neighbours made him plow it up.  Just don’t tell Kevin that.”

 

———

 

Bazur came in stripped off his suit jacket, chucked it and his tie on the coat rack in the front hall.  He was leaving a trail of clothes up the stairs as he went to his room. He was down to his shorts by the time he got to the third floor and found Vinny coming out of her room.

 

“Um.  Hello.”

 

“Shit!  Oh! Sorry!  Um… Hi… I promise I’ll put pants on for supper.”

 

Vinny just shook her head.  “It’s OK. Um… Can I have a moment of your time?”

 

———

 

Kevin was watching porn in his room when someone knocked.

 

It had to be Vinny, no one else would bother.  He turned off his computer. Made himself human shaped and tightly folded his shell around his crotch.  He wrenched open the door to find Bazur and Vinny looking at him. 

 

“What?” he snapped.  He immediately wanted to take it back.  “Sorry. I just… what do you need, Vinny?”

 

“Um…  I need to go buy textbooks next week.  I was wondering if you would come give me a hand.”

 

Kevin bared his needle teeth at Bazur.  “Didn’t you explain that I’m not a person?  I can’t leave the house.”

 

Vinny cleared her throat.  “I read up on that. You are allowed out, it’s just that someone has to be responsible for you.  I was just thinking that you could come with me, and check out the books. Maybe there is a class you want to take online or some books your are interested in.”

 

Kevin narrowed his eyes, “Did he warn you what happened the last time I went out?”

 

Vinny nodded, “You turned into a giant jar of mayo and pranked people in Costco.”

 

“And you still want me to come with you?”

 

Vinny looked a little more nervous now, “Well, if you wander off, you just have to make it across campus to get home.  And if you do ok, then you could come out with me more often. If you wanted to, I mean. Just… if you trash the place, I can’t afford to pay, so don’t feel like you have to come with.  This is an optional event.”

 

Kevin tilted his head, “I’ll think about it.  I’m surprised you haven’t made Bazur put his pants back on.”

 

Vinny shrugged.  “I’m adapting.”

 

Kevin nodded,  “Anything else?”

 

“Nope.  Supper is salmon.  You have about an hour.”

 

“Fine.”

 

Vinny left.  Kevin went back to his porn.  The woman had long dark hair and big hazel eyes.  She was currently on her back with a mimic holding her legs open and licking aggressively between them; her screaming was slowly becoming more convincing.

 

Kevin changed back into his chest form and spent some time stroking himself.  He needed to be less frustrated before he came down for dinner.

 

——

 

Kevin wasn’t sure about this.  He was currently trailing behind Vinny as a piece of luggage.  She had tried to introduce him to a couple of her friends already.  He wasn’t really going along with that. He would say hi, but nor shake hands.  He didn’t want to taste strangers hands.

 

He wouldn’t mind tasting Vinny, but he had made sure that wasn’t an option, weeks ago.

 

Mostly.  He would still go out of his way to be helpful when she was working around the house, just so she would rub oil into him afterwards.  He wondered idly if she would do that when they got home.

 

She had just paid for two big bags full of supplies and was about to head home.

 

“I’ll carry those,” he offered.

 

Vinny hesitated.  “If I put them inside of your shell, will the get all soggy? It looks like your mouth right now.”

 

Kevin opened his eyes on the outside of the chest shape and rolled them.  “I promise I won’t spit on your books.”

 

“OK.” Vinny didn’t sound confident, but she wrapped the plastic bags tightly around her books and placed them into the opening of his shell.  “Thanks, Kevin.”

 

“Welcome,” it was a bit muffled around the books.  He didn’t say much as they walked across the park together.

 

That meant that Vinny could talk, “Thanks for coming with me.  I appreciate the help carrying all of that home.”

 

Kevin hummed in agreement.

 

Vinny kept talking, “I’m trying to get used to the idea of treating everyone in the house as extended family.  I have a big family, but only my mom and my brother ever lived in the same house as me. Aunt Toni goes to church with us, but mostly the rest of them only get together for birthdays or holidays.”

 

Kevin hummed again.  “Movie night?”

 

“If you like.”

 

“Venom?”

 

Vinny paused. It wasn’t her kind of movie but, “Yeah.  I heard they cast mimics as the symbiotes.”

 

Kevin somehow managed to nod.

 

“That’s a bit of a novel idea.  Better than always being the trap in the dungeon, I guess.”  Vinny tactfully didn’t mention that it had gotten terrible reviews.  There had been four parts for mimics in it. That was unprecedented.

 

“You guys watch a lot of super hero movies.  I mean I get they they generally have more parts for non-humans, but they don’t usually portray you in the best light.”

 

Mumbling around the bags of books, Kevin replied, “It’s a start.”

 

They watched the movie and Vinny was even able to convince Dren to join them.  

 

Kevin was currently a floor vase holding the melted gelatinous.  They were both very quiet so they didn’t interrupt the movie. No one needed to know that Dren was swirling around Kevin’s cock inside the vase.  Or that Kevin’s shivers were stroking Dren.

 

OK, so the guys probably knew.  The point was that no one told Vinny, who was sitting in Kogan’s lap while Tristan rubbed her feet.

 

Movie night seemed to be enjoyed by all.

  
  



	14. Chapter 14

“So…. Dren and Kevin, huh?”

 

Derick slowed to a stop and waited for Vinny to turn around and come back for him on there morning run through the park.

 

“What?”

 

The werewolf shook his head, “It’s not like that.”

 

“The whole living room smelled like bergamot, I’m pretty sure it’s like that.”

 

Derick sighed, “People have the luxury of being picky.  The polite name is species diverse household, but people call us the monster house.  We are monsters. No one wants us. We take care of each other.”

 

“I want you,” Vinny smiled.

 

Derick grinned and leaned in to kiss her.  “Yeah, but I’m easy to love. Tristan is easy to objectify.  Kogan is easy to fear. We aren’t seen as people. I’m the only one in that house that can pass as human.  So, yeah, we take care of each other.”

 

Vinny nodded, slowly.  Then she turned and went back to her run.  Derick easily caught up. “Vinny? I wasn’t dating any one.  I wasn’t even looking. Those guys are my family, and even if you don’t see it that way, you are one of us now.  Part of the family.”

 

“So if Tristan came home from work one day, totally stressed out-”

 

“No.  Tristan isn’t that lucky.  He’s pretty damn hetero. He has a shit day, he lets some woman take him home and then spends weeks feeling being haunted by it.  People don’t treat him like people. He could have all the sexual harassment he could hold still for. It isn’t the same as meaningful sex.”

 

The jogged in silence for a while.  Finally, Vinny said, “Yeah, I get that.  That time Tristan took me grocery shopping…. Just … wow.  It was bad. And I’m pretty sure my Aunt Val recognized him.”

 

It was another block before Derick responded, “He likes it when you spend time with him.  That’s good.”

 

“Is it?”

 

“Yeah.  He needs some positive attention, from a nice person.”

 

Vinny just shook her head, “This is the strangest relationship I have ever even heard of let alone been in.”

 

“Maybe, but I promise it will be the most stable.   There’s enough of us that there is always someone to talk to.  We don’t keep secrets and if we end up with problems we all work together to fix them.”

 

That was something to think about.  Stable was not a word that couple be applied to her parents’ relationship.

 

———-

 

Tristan came home from work.  He did not slam the door. He sat down and pulled off his boots.  He walked into the kitchen, without saying a word to Vinny or Kevin.  He helped himself to one of Kogan’s beer out of the fridge and headed upstairs to the bathroom.  As he walked away, he could hear Vinny talking.

 

“That was … odd,” Vinny observed.

 

“That was a really bad day at work,” Kevin replied.  “He’ll hang out in the bathtub until the water gets cold then hide in his room and watch MST3K or something other sarcastic show.”

 

“Yup,” he called from the staircase. “That is the plan.  Don’t hold supper for me.” 

 

It used to be that he would fell a little guilt hogging the tub, but a couple of weeks ago, Vinny announced that she would share the third floor bathroom as long as it was open when she needed to shower and no one peed on the floor.  There had been a round of snickering at that.

 

Then they realized she was dead serious.

 

It really was the emergency bathroom, no one wanted to be the one accused of peeing on the floor.

 

After he ran a hot bath, with a big scoop of epsom salts because he worked hard and his muscles hurt, he turned of the lights turned off.  There was enough natural light from the window and he didn’t like the way the light fixture buzzed slightly. He was too big to drown in the tub, so he just dozed until the water was cold and the room was dark. 

 

Climbing out of the tub, he wrapped a towel around his waist and thought about going down stairs to scrounge for food, but just headed to his room instead.  It was going to take a while to dry off anyway. Back in the day, he had suffered through monthly full body waxings, which he had always though was a bit unfair.  He didn’t have coarse and relatively long body hair like a human. His was short and velvety. But he had a lot of it and it took a while to dry, so he was going to be here for a while.

 

There was a very timid knock on the door.  Tristan reposition the towel so that he was arguably covered.  “What do you need, Vinny?”

 

She didn’t open the door, but merely called out, “It was build your own burrito night.  I brought you some with beans, rice and veg, the way you like.”

 

He considered that as he dried his balls.  “One moment.” Sweatpants were unearthed from the dark bowels of his closet and applied before he opened the door.  Vinny was standing patiently with a plate full of food for him.

 

“I warmed it up when I heard the tub emptying.”

 

“Thank you.”  He turned on the TV before flopping down on the bed with the plate on his chest.

 

Vinny was still standing in the doorway.

 

“Anything I can help you with, VJ?”

 

“Um.  Yeah. Never call me that in front of Kevin.  Also, I was wondering if you wanted some company.”

 

He gave her a look, “Derick is at work.”

 

“Yeah.  So either we can both be alone, watching TV.  Or we can watch together and your screen is WAY bigger than my laptop.”

 

Tristan considered this as he chewed a bite of burrito.  “OK. Do you think you could steal another couple of Kogan’s beer?”

 

“I HEARD THAT!” was shouted from across the hall.

 

Vinny laughed.  She had a nice laugh.  “No, but I can raid my own stash.”

 

They ended up watching Lucifer on Netflix.  Vinny brought beer and popcorn. She end up falling asleep curled against his side after the fourth episode.

 

That was nice.

 

——

 

Tristan woke for a moment when Derick came in.  He blinked at the werewolf who was stripping down to his shorts and climbing into bed so that Vinny was between them.

 

That was nice too.

 

——

 

Vinny and Derick were home from a much shorter than usual morning run.  Derick was off to sleep during the day so he could go back and work another night shift.  It was pouring rain out, giving Tristan a very much appreciated day off. He was watching Vinny.  Who was looking out the window with dread.

 

“What’s up, buttercup?”

 

“I have to take the bus grocery shopping in that.”

 

“Or we could take my truck.”

 

Vinny turned to look at him.  “You could just stay inside and watch TV and not have to go out to get wet,” she pointed out.

 

Tristan just shrugged, “We try to take care of each other around here.”

 

They ended up stuck in traffic after some idiot spun out on the wet tarmac, taking out three other cars and completely blocking the road.  Tristan was humming along with the local country station, not really minding the delay, but he could tell Vinny had something on her mind. After another five minutes by the clock, he turned off the radio and announced, “Just say it.”

 

Vinny blushed, “I haven’t ever seen any of your movies.  I was trying to decide if it was more polite to just ask or to go looking for them on the internet.”

 

Tristan went very still as he considered this.  “I would rather you didn’t go looking for them. What do you want to know?”

 

“I just trying to understand the fetish. I mean, you are a great guy, but it doesn’t sound like this is regular porn we are talking about.”

 

Tristan forced himself to relax.  “The Rodeo Circuit is live events featuring minotaur men and human women.  They usually try to emphasize the size different.”

 

“So what?  They pair you up with a woman and you have sex in front of an audience?”

 

Tristan snorted.  “Not exactly. They do it up as though it was a real rodeo event.  So they have ‘competitions.’ For example, there is minotaur milking  we are all naked in a ring and they release a bunch of women who have to run across the arena, find a minotaur and make him cum.  Any way they like. Hands, mouthes, whatever. First one to finish, wins. Or there’s bull riding. A gal climbs on one of our cocks.  The guy bucks and tries to ‘get her off.’ There are two versions of that. Fastest time to female orgasm wins, or longest ride where-”

 

“OK.  I get it.  That all sounds so dehumanizing.”

 

Tristan shrugged, “Yeah.  But it pays well if you can’t, for example, get a business loan.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Plus, you would be hard pressed to find an idiot in his twenties that wouldn't at least consider all the sex he could get and a paycheque too.”

 

“I guess.  Did you … um… have a favourite event?”

 

Tristan looked at Vinny sitting there, staring straight out the window, and burst out laughing.  “I mostly competed in the bull riding events. I won more than a few. Which is why I never like being on the bottom now.  I am much happier holding a gal up and fucking her against the wall.”

 

That made her look at him.  Tristan just shrugged, “I wouldn’t have brought it up if you hadn’t.”

  
  



	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oops! Repost due to errrors

Kogan was waiting on a park bench.  He was wishing he smoked. If he had a cigarette, the campus security guard wouldn’t be watching him so intently.  He would have a reason to be here. As it was he was just lottering. That wasn’t as socially acceptable as a cigarette break.

 

He snorted quietly to himself.  Yeah. If he was out here getting lung cancer and sharing that opportunity with everyone who walked passed, he would be fine.  As it was not bothering anyone was going to get him in trouble. 

 

The library was closed.  The campus coffee shop was closed.  He was a big scary orc, lurking in the dark, waiting to pick up a co-ed.  He stood up and went into the building. He could waste some time if he found a bathroom and took a piss.  Maybe. Vinny’s class was supposed to be over five minutes ago. He didn’t want to miss her if she came out while he was hiding from security.  Part of the deal was someone to walk her home from these-

 

“Sir!  Can I see some ID?”

 

Shit.  Well, at least it was ‘sir’ and not ‘Hey! You!’  He knew this song and dance. He turned and faced the man in his twenties, who was armed, but mostly holding a big flash light like a billy club.  “It’s in the inside pocket of my jacket.” He explained, moving slowly as he unzipped his coat.

 

“I bet you don’t have a student ID,” the kid snarked.

 

“Nope.  But I can show you my Veterans ID if it helps.”  Kogan handed the kid his drivers license. The brat didn’t even look at it, but kept shining the light in Kogan’s eyes.

 

“Can you tell me your business on campus tonight, sir?”

 

“One of the people in my building is taking a Chem lab here tonight.  If you notice my address is right across the park. She asked me to walk her home rather than have to cross campus alone in the dark.”

 

“Night labs were over ten minutes ago, sir.  Can you be more specific about which student or which class?”

 

“Chem 403, and her name -”

 

“Ah!” he interrupted with sudden understanding.  “Yeah. Dr Gilchrist always goes at least ten - fifteen minutes long on these things.”  He tossed the wallet back at Kogan without more than glancing at the ID. “Are you walking her home on Wednesday and Friday too?”

 

Kogan narrowed his eyes, “She said the lab was only Monday and Wednesday, but yeah, either me or someone from the building will be walking her home.”

 

“Kogan!  Hey, Stu!”

 

The security guy finally pointed his flashlight at the ground, “Vinny?  I thought you lived with your mom.”

 

“Yeah, well, I have Math in the morning and you know how it is.”

 

“If you are living just across the park, you can always call one of us to walk you home,” Stu offered.

 

“Nah, safe walks aren’t a priority and I don’t want to get stuck on campus for an extra hour if you are called out to something more exciting.  You giving Kogan a hard time?”

 

Without the light shining in his eyes, Kogan could read the security guard's ID, Stuart Johnstone.  He made a point of memorizing the employee number as well.

 

“Uh, yeah.  He’s lurking on campus, after dark, wearing a biker jacket.”

 

Vinny gave Stu an easy grin, “Well, no one is going to try anything when I have him walking me home.”

 

“Are you sure you want to leave with this guy, Vinny?”

 

“Absolutely.  He’s been driving me to church every Sunday all summer. Anyway, I have Math at 8AM, so we are going to head out.  Unless you want to card me too.”

 

Stu pretended to consider it.  “Nah. Have a good night, Vinny,” and in a much cooler tone he added, “Kogan.”

 

Vinny looped her hand over Kogan’s elbow as she led him away.  That was new. They were well into the park before she spoke. “I am so sorry about Stuart.  I think he’s on nights so he doesn’t have to interact with people.”

 

Kogan just snorted. “Derick says I need to make you go to sleep because class tomorrow is early.”

 

Vinny nodded. “Straight home, brush my teeth, off to sleep. As soon as I just finish up a few notes.”

 

Two hours later, Kogan gave up on the pointed looks. He brought Thea into Vinny’s room. He walked over to the desk, closed her books and said, “You have a full day of classes tomorrow. You only have six hours to sleep. Now. Are you going to go to bed and stay there or do I need to make Thea tie you to the bed frame. 

 

Vinny stared at him. Thea looked appalled. Kogan kept talking. “I mean it. Brush your teeth then go to sleep and since we’ve already had this conversation four times, what do you expect me to do to make it stick?  If you aren’t getting more sleep than you would at your Mom’s she isn’t going to let you stay here.”

 

Vinny scuttled off, brushed her teeth and put on her jammies in the bathroom then was back in her room and under the covers in a flash. Kogan was still watching.  Thea was still looking awkward. 

 

“Right!” He announced.  Then he crawled into her bed with her. “Thea, you take the other side. And poke me if I snore.”  The drider looked decidedly uncomfortable with the idea, but rested his arachnoid half on the floor so that he could rest it humanoid half over the bed.  Vinny gave him a sleepy smile and pulled Thea’s arm around her as she let Kogan spoon her.

 

The kid was more tired than Kogan had guessed because it only took a few moments before her body went slack and her breathing slowed.  Thea tried to ease away from her.

 

“Don’t you dare!” Kogan hissed.  Thea froze. “She could have asked you to leave.  If you really want to go, fine. But this is your chance to get used to the idea of being close to her without sticking your foot in your mouth.”

 

Thea nodded and settled back onto the bed.

 

\-----

 

Vinny woke with a curse when her alarm went off.  She knew she wasn’t running with Derick on Tuesdays and Thursdays now that classes had started, but it was still a jolt thinking she was late.  She wiggled away from Thea, crawled over a snoring Kogan, grabbed her clothes and headed to her bathroom to get ready. It was surprisingly cool that morning.  She made a note to find some slippers and make sure the curtains were closed before bed.

 

As she bounced into the kitchen and headed to the industrial grade coffee pot,  She waved at Derick eating his supper before bed. Tristan threw another bagel into the toaster for her.

 

“Supper tonight will be a little early.  I’m making stew so that everyone one can help themselves when they are ready.”

 

Bazur nodded as he read the paper.  “What is on that you need to be out of here early?”

 

Vinny made her coffee and carried it to the table.  “Today I have two classes from eight until eleven, homework from noon until three, then shopping and cooking so that I can be at work at the coffee shop from seven to ten.  Then I come home and start all over.”

 

“When do you sleep?” Bazur asked.

 

Vinny blinked as she sipped her coffee.  “From eleven until six, then running before breakfast and back to class.  Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have three classes, 9am, 10am and 12pm. Then homework, grocery shopping, and cooking dinner before my Monday/Wednesday lab from 7:30 to 10:30.”

 

“Closer to 10:45,” Kogan rumbled from the stairs.  “Then homework until almost 1am or I threaten you to make you sleep. And you are working 8-4 on the weekend. This doesn’t seem sustainable.”

 

“It’ll be fine.  I don’t have the party lifestyle.  Trust me, I’ve been managing for the last three years.  I got this.”

 

Tristan cleared his throat, “I bet that your mom has been taking care of groceries and cooking for the last three years.”

 

“Yeah, but I also had a hour bus ride to and from campus everyday.”  The guys around the table shared a look. “What?” she asked.

 

It was Dren that cleared his throat.  “You could study on the bus. The time you are working for us is coming out of your sleep time isn’t it?”

 

Vinny looked a little guilty. “It will be fine,” she repeated.  “I only have a year left. It will be fine.”

 

No one said anything.

 

It took less than two weeks for it to become apparent that it wasn’t fine.  The second Sunday after classes started she fell asleep on the bus on her way to work.  She missed the start of her shift and had to get a cab from the end of the bus line to the cafe.  The cab fare ate up most of the income for the day. She also got a lecture from her boss not to make a habit of it.  Her concentration was shot. She was making mistakes in customer orders and her penmanship deteriorated to the point where she was having a hard time reading her notes.

 

She came home and while the chickens were roasting, tried to figure out her budget to see if she could give up the weekday shifts at the cafe.  There was lots of muttered curses at the computer.

 

Kevin was watching from the shadows, “Why don’t you get a loan?”  Vinny froze. “Lots students have loans,” he continued.

 

“I can’t.”

 

“I know it would suck, but it would only be one year, not four.”

 

“No.  I really can’t.  My father makes too much money for me to qualify for an official student loan and I can’t get a line of credit without a co-signer.  Ma’s credit is still shot from the divorce so she can’t.”

 

“And your dad won’t co-sign for you?”  It was the wrong thing to say. Kevin could tell as soon as it was out.  There wasn’t away to take it back.

 

“My father is busy with his new family and his younger wife out west.  We haven’t had so much as a Christmas card from eight years. I did call to ask when I first got into school.  He told me to figure it out. Said it would help me build character.” Vinny closed her laptop with a snap and went upstairs to her room.  

 

Kevin kept an eye on the chicken.  When Vinny didn’t come back downstairs, he was the one to turn off the oven when the timer beeped.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys. I'm just not working at 100% today. THIS time it's chapter 15 for sure. Please comment, but also, please be kind about my mistakes. I'm running a bit of a sleep deficit and could do with a little cheering


	16. Chapter 16

Vinny rushed in from her homework session at the library, she pounded up the stairs to drop off her books then back down to Bazur’s office to get the grocery money for the day.  He always had cash in an envelope waiting for her.

 

Today, he was on the phone.  He waved her over to the couch.  Vinny sat but bounced nervously, she was cutting it close to catch the bus.

 

After a while, she heard the bus go past and she stopped bouncing.  Bazur was explaining the history of a property. He finally just referenced the local history room, said good day and hung up.

 

The phone had barely clicked off when he said, “I’m ordering in Thai for supper and I want you to quit your job.”

 

Vinny was floored.  “What? I… Have there been complaints?”

 

Bazur frowned at her, “Your other job.  I closed a six million dollar real estate sale last week.  I make three per cent commission. I will give you a raise so that you can afford to just work here.”

 

Vinny blinked.

 

Bazur continued, “My calculations say that you are working three, three hour shifts and two eight hour shifts a week at the cafe.  That’s twenty five hours, call it ten dollars an hour. I will give you an extra four hundred dollars a week to quit.”

 

Vinny was stunned, “Why?”

 

Bazur grinned, his stone teeth were both pointy and slightly coated in black.  “You are one of us now and we take care of each other. Plus, you keep Kevin in line.  That is no small job.”

 

“I-” she stopped. She wanted to say, ‘you don’t have to do that,’ or ‘I’m fine,’ but really the only thing she could say was, “Thank you, Bazur.”

 

“You are welcome, Vinny,” he said seriously.  Then he grinned again, “Plus, you will make an excellent tax deduction.”

 

The thai was quite good.  Vinny was happy to have the night off.  

 

Derick walked her to class before heading off to work.  She told him about Bazur’s offer. He was pleased. “Please tell me you are going to quit at the cafe.  No more rude customers. No more frantic running back and forth. Just… let us help, please.”

 

“I’ll give my notice at my shift tomorrow,” she promised.

 

Derick relaxed a little, “Good.  How is the lab going?”

 

“It’s ok.  The prof is kind of a jerk, but I’m learning a lot.  I’m hoping to get a job as a research assistant next year, so this kind of practical experience is great.”

 

“I’m surprised you only have one lab to be honest.”

 

Vinny shrugged, “I will have two next term.”

 

Derick nodded, “Think you will go for your masters degree?”

 

Vinny considered this, “Someday, maybe.”

 

\----

 

The lab just made Vinny tired.  She was surprised to see Tristan waiting for her when she finally got out.  Tristan and Stuart. Great. This time she didn’t even try to engage Stu. “Hey!  Tristan! Let’s go home. I’m tired.” 

 

Stuart opened his mouth to say something, but Vinny had already turned toward the park and started walking.  Tristan hurried to catch up. It was a dark and misty night. Walking through the abandoned, unlit park full of trees gave the walk a horror movie vibe.  Vinny was ignoring it. Tristan was vaguely uneasy.

 

“He’s an asshole, isn’t he,” the minotaur whispered, more for something to say than anything else.

 

“Yes, he is,” Vinny agreed.  

 

They walked in silence for a while.  

 

“Vinny?”  Tristan waited until she was looking at him before he continued.  “Um… If you aren’t working this Saturday, would you come to a trade show with me?  It works better if I have a human along.” He hesitated for a moment, “I could pay you-”

 

“Nope.  I’m good.  I would love to.  I’m scheduled to work, but I’m sure I can get someone to cover for me.”

 

“Thank you,” the relief pouring off of Tristan was palpable.

 

“That bad?” Vinny asked.

 

“So much worse than the grocery store,” he agreed.  “They all assume I’m the hired muscle. No one believes I own a business.”

 

“Ugh.  Don’t worry.  I’ll set them straight.”

 

“Uh… actually, I was hoping we could good cop/bad cop them into better wholesale deals.”

 

Vinny froze.  Then she laughed.  “That sounds like fun.”

 

It turned out work didn’t want any notice.  In fact as soon as Barry saw her letter of resignation, he fired her on the spot.  Vinny then dug in her heels and wanted that in writing. He got pissy, scribbled ‘your fired!!!’ on a napkin and threw it at her.  Vinny snickered at his spelling and gave it back to him to sign. Once he did, she left. 

 

Of course the bus had just been.  She sent out a group text explaining what had just happened and to warn the guys that she would be home as soon as she could catch the next bus home.  Then she sent a smirk emoji and the single word ‘pants’ to Bazur.

 

He texted back as a blushing emoji.  

 

Kogan also texted back that he was in the neighbourhood and would pick her up in five minutes.  Vinny sat down on the park bench in front of the cafe to wait. She wasn’t there very long when Barry came out and threatened to call the cops because she was loitering.  Kogan pulling up, climbing off his noisy oversized bike and coming to loom next to them put a crimp in Barry’s temper tantrum.

 

Kogan’s insistence that, since Vinny was fired, she get severance was not well received.  Nor was his offer to have his lawyer call corporate headquarters to get that arranged. Vinny gave his arm a tug.  “We should just go,” she insisted.

 

Kogan narrowed his eyes at Barry.  “Sure. But I’m not letting this guy take advantage of you.  Only fair to let him know that and give him a chance to do the right thing.”

 

Kogan, however didn’t take her home.  No. He took her to a bar.

 

“What’s up, big guy?”

 

“I need to talk to you, but I’m so inherently shy and demur that I need a shot of courage first,” Kogan answered.

 

Vinny just laughed.  That was not how she would have described him.  It was an orc bar. That was… unusual. Vinny hadn’t very been to one and from the looks on the patrons faces, they didn’t get many humans in here either.  It was dark and old, but had beautiful Edwardian high ceilings and millwork. It was just that everything was slightly yellowing. You could tell that this place had been in operation since well before the indoor smoking ban.  Kogan put his hand gently in the small of her back and led her to a table near the bricked up fireplace.

 

An orcess came over to the table and completely ignored Vinny. “What can I get you Kogan?”

 

“A pint of Guinness and a glass of Heineken.  Thanks, Maxine.”

 

Vinny was curious that the waitress knew Kogan by name but couldn’t figure out how to ask about that without it sounding like she was implying either that all orcs knew each other or that he had a drinking problem.  She knew that neither was true so she just let that go. She was sipping her beer when Kogan finally said, “I have a good pension.”

 

She blinked, “Um… congratulations?”

 

He shook his head, “I know how hard you work.  I’m really sorry you got fired. I could top up your salary at the house.”

 

Vinny wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Um…” She would have thought that Bazur would have told the guys about his offer.  Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he didn’t want them to know. “I made other arrangements, Kogan. I wouldn’t feel right about taking your money.”

 

“We take care of each other, Vinny.  Please let me do this,” he was so ernest and worried that Vinny got a little choked up.

 

“Thank you, Kogan.  I think you should talk to Bazur before you do anything.  I will be fine.”

 

He fumbled in his shirt pocket and pulled out something that he handed to her.  It was a credit card with her name on it. “I added a second card to my account for you. For emergencies.  In case you are ever stuck somewhere and need a cab or you have unexpected expenses. Or anything. It had a thousand dollar limit on your card, so you won’t accidentally bankrupt me, but if you need it, use it.  I’ll take care of the payments and you won’t have to pay be back.”

 

Vinny was flabbergasted.  “I.. I don’t know what to say.  I can’t-”

 

“It’s for emergencies,” Kogan stressed.  “Don’t say you can’t accept it. Take it.  If you don’t use it, that’s fine. But if you are ever stuck, I want you to have a way out.  Orcs are tribal. We are used to large family groups. I think of you as family. I want to make sure you are safe.  Please let me do this,” he repeated that last line with a look of intense pleading in his eyes.

 

Vinny nodded.  “Thank you.”

 

Kogan nodded, “Good.”  Then he finished his beer.  He nodded at her again, “Don’t rush.  I need a moment with the owner before we go.”

 

Vinny took a sip of her beer.  Kogan headed over to the bar. Maxine came over to clear his glass and wipe the table.

 

This time she looked at Vinny.  “Kogan’s pretty old school. I’m not sure you understand that he is treating you like one of his spouses here.”

 

“What?”

 

Maxine just shrugged.  “Orcs have group marriages.  Not like humans where one guy takes a few wives.  Actual group marriages. Several males, several females, no one knows (or cares) who fathered the children, group marriages.  Look. This is me telling you don’t fuck this up. Kogan is well liked in the orc community. He’s going to ask us to keep an eye on you.  If you are leading him on, just break it off now. If not, well, you found a good one.”

 

“Um… Thank you?” Vinny really had no idea what to say to that.

 

Supper was already in the slow cooker, so she didn’t have much to do when she got home, so Vinny headed up to her room to research orc group marriages.  She was barely settled in when Derick knocked on her door.

 

“I hear it didn’t go so well.  I’m so sorry.”

 

Vinny waved him into her room, looked to see if Kevin was in the hallway then closed the door.  “I had the weirdest conversation with Kogan.”

 

“Oh?” Derick asked.  If Vinny had been paying attention, she would have noticed the look on his face as he said that.

 

“Yeah!  Um… He gave me an emergency credit card.  Then the waitress at the bar said Kogan was treating me like one of his wives.”

 

“Huh.  He finally worked up the nerve, huh?  He’s been carrying that thing around in his pocket for a couple of weeks already.”

 

“Derick!  She said I was like his wife!”

 

Derick considered that.  “I doubt it. Orcs don’t have a word for wife.  They have a word for spouse, but it translates to ‘adult I live with and may sometime have casual sex with,’ so I have a hard time believing he would have called you his wife.  As for the spouse part, everyone else in this house fits the definition, so I don’t see why-”

 

“But I’m dating you!  I can’t have sex with Kogan!”

 

Derick just looked puzzled.  “I would never insist on that!  I mean, I would much prefer you didn’t sleep with anyone outside of the family, but -”

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Yes.”  He looked at her shocked face and sighed.  “I completely understand that monogamy is great for preventing the spread of disease and knowing who the father is.  But those are human concerns. None of us are going to be able to get you pregnant. If you turn up pregnant, we would all come together to raise the baby.  And really, as long as no one is playing favourites, there are a lot of advantages to living in a pack.”

 

Vinny stared at him and then sat heavily down on the bed.

 

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

 

Derick just shrugged.  “You don’t have to say anything.  It’s your decision. I’m not going to pressure you into anything.  But if the thing holding you back is some catholic idea that I want you to be faithful, well, you need to understand that doesn’t really apply to these guys.”

 

“Derick?  Are you sleeping with them?”

 

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.  “I was, before you got here. Since we’ve been together… well, I’ve been off limits because we weren’t sure how you would feel about sharing.”

 

Vinny felt like her brain just shorted out.  “I don’t know how I feel about sharing!” She was quiet for a moment.  “I never even considered that it would be an option.”

 

Shrugging, Derick replied, “It’s up to you.  No one was expecting to even like whoever we got in here.  Turns out we all love you in our own way. If this is going to make it weird, or make you want to leave, then don’t.  I’ll never bring it up again.”

 

“I… need some time to process,” Vinny admitted.

 

“That’s fair,”  Derick replied. “Anyway, if you are OK, I’m going to go set the table.  Dinner smells amazing.”

 

Vinny nodded absentmindedly as he left.  Yeah, she was going to need some time to think.

 

\------

 

The landscaping trade show was interesting.  Tristan had given her the heads up on what he was shopping for.  Then, as it turned out, all he needed to do was step back and let Vinny take care of it.  He didn’t even need to bad cop. She would smile and flirt and put her hand on the sales guy’s arm.  She would put up with them talking to her like she was as idiot. They would give her a ‘special deal, little lady’ then offer her 10-30% less than Tristan was used to paying.  In the end, she got contracts for everything on his list for the year at a substantially lower amount than he had been hoping for.

 

It was dark and raining by the time they ran out to his truck as the show was shutting down.  Tristan held open his coat to try to cover them both until he lifted her into the cab. He climbed into the driver’s side and reached around to the back seat to grab a towel.  He scrubbed off his face where his hair was longest, then turned to look at Vinny. “You were amazing. Thank you.”

 

She smiled at him and reached out to push his hair out of his face.  Then she stopped and looked horrified. Tristan tried to ignore how much that stung.

 

“I am so sorry!  I just became another woman touching you without asking.”

 

Tristan paused, “You aren’t some woman touching me.  You are my friend, VJ touching me. It’s different.”

 

Vinny blushed.  “Can I borrow the towel?”

 

He handed it over silently.  She tried to dry her hair a bit.  Despite their best efforts her t-shirt was soaked and sticking to her in places.  “I was going to take you out for dinner to say thank you, but maybe we should go home and dry off first.”

 

Vinny nodded and did up her seat belt.  Neither one of them said much on the ride home, but when Tristan parked in the garage, Vinny caught his arm before he got out of the truck.  “Is it true this whole house is one big open relationship?”

 

Tristan coughed, “Sort of.  I mean, I don’t trust my dick around Derick’s teeth and I’m pretty sure Bazur is ace, but.. Um.. I guess.  Sometimes.”

 

Vinny chewed thoughtfully on her lip for a moment,  “I would be OK with my friend Tristan touching me too.  I know you don’t. Except for helping me in and out of the truck, you don’t ever…  Anyway. You don’t have to be careful with me, and I promise not to try to take advantage of you.  If friendly touching is ok, I mean.”

 

Tristan smiled softly. “I’d like that.  It was really nice have cuddles after a bad day.  It would be great to even just curl up and watch a movie sometime.”

 

“We can still get take out and do that, if you want.”

 

Tristan grinned, “I’d like that.”

 

\----

 

Vinny was comfortably dozing on Derrick’s chest.  She had her hand in his shorts and was cupping his dick.  He liked that and over the last few weeks it became their default sleeping together position.  It was extra nice that Derick was spooned up behind her with a hard on pressed against her back.  She wasn’t awake enough to understand the incongruity there.

 

Derick looked up at Tristan, who was sitting up in bed enough to watch Vinny’s hand in his shorts, and whispered, “Sorry.  It’s kind of our thing.”

 

Tristan grinned, “I can understand why.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a thing on Tumblr. Basically, I blew this months fun money on tick meds for my dog. But if you donated to AO3 in 2019 and comment on any of my works telling me that you did there will be bonus content based on number of AO3 supporters. I have ideas lined up for 10, 25, and 50 comments.


	17. Chapter 17

Vinny woke up snuggled and warm with a cock in her hand.  She giggled softly as she her waking brain made a joke about a cock in the hand being better than two in the bush.  She put her hand on the his chest and rolled her face to snicker into his chest. That’s when it hit her that this chest wasn’t fuzzy in the  same way Derick’s was. She sat bolt upright and stared at Tristan in horror.

 

“Oh god!  I am so sorry!”

 

“It’s ok,” Tristan said gently.  “It isn’t…” he paused for a moment,  “I don’t want to offend you, but I like when you touch me.  You aren’t demanding anything from me. It’s nice. Innocent.”

 

Vinny snorted, “I’m not that innocent.”

 

Derick laughed, “You see us, all of us, as people.  That is really nice.”

 

“I don’t expect you to touch me,” Tristan continued, “but it sure is nice when you do.”

 

Vinny blew out a long breath, as she rolled over to look at Derick.  He was watching her so fondly. She leaned forward and kissed him. Derick was a great kisser.  “I need to brush my teeth and get changed before our run.” Then she felt daring as she turned back to Tristan, “Thanks for keeping we warm last night.”  Then she kissed him too. 

 

It was a little weird since his mouth wasn’t exactly the right shape, but his lips were soft.  He cupped her neck, then stroked her back as she did. It sent shivers up her spine in a way that make her want more.

 

“I gotta go,” she blurted out as she scrambled out of bed.  Neither of them said anything as she bolted from the room.

 

Her morning run with Derick was quiet.  Eventually, Vinny asked, “You really aren’t bothered by that?”

 

“Nope.”

 

After another few blocks.  “Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

They crossed the park.  “It is some sort of fetish?”

 

That made him laugh.  “You got me! I have a thing for watching people I care about being happy.  You and Tristan together is like a double whammy.”

 

“Are you asking me to-”

 

“Whoa!  Nope! I’m not asking for anything.  I’m just telling you it’s OK if you want.”

 

“Huh.” She really didn’t know what else to say.

 

Derick either wasn’t bothered by the discussion or he wasn’t willing to let things get awkward.  “You have the day off. Any plans?”

 

“Kogan will be taking me to church when we get back.  Then brunch with my family followed by meal planning and homework.”

 

“Sounds like a full day. Time to go for a drink later?”

 

Vinny grinned, “I think I figure something out.”

 

\----

 

Church was the usual sitting, standing and kneeling.  Vinny went home for brunch afterwards. JJ was the same, slightly obnoxious kid.  Her mother, Val and her Aunt Toni were sniping at each other. Vinny had no idea how to bring up work.  Finally, she just spit it out over pancakes.

 

“I quit at the coffee shop.”

 

That caused the conversation to come to a screeching halt.  Ma and Aunt Toni both started at her.

 

Ma had to clear her throat before asking, “Because you found a better job?”

 

“Um… sort of.  I passed my probation working for Bazur and he gave me a raise.”

 

Toni looked please, “Wow!  That’s awesome, Vinny!”

 

Val on the other hand looked skeptical, “How much of a raise?”

 

Vinny tensed, “An extra $400 a week.  He’s using me as a tax deduction.”

 

Val narrowed her eyes, “Is that all he’s using you for?”

 

Toni coughed, “Val!  She was being under paid to start with!”

 

“But-”

 

“And gargoyles are all asexual.  Everyone knows that.”

 

Val was not mollified.  “What kind of housekeeper makes almost two grand a month?”

 

“One who works seven days a week!” Vinny retorted.  “I would be on continuous over time if I wasn’t on salary.  Plus, good luck trying to find a cleaning service for less than $20/hr, nevermind a personal chef!”

 

“And there’s nothing kinky going on?” Val insisted

 

“Christ Ma!”

 

“Watch your mouth, Vincencia! You are my daughter!  You are my responsibility!”

 

“I’m your adult daughter, Ma!  You don’t get to ask that any more than you want Gramma Sophie asking about your sex life!”

 

“That’s different!”

 

At that point Toni got involved, “It really isn’t Val.  She’s an adult. She’s paying her own bills. She really didn’t need need to even tell you she was changing jobs.  Plus, how ever you dressed it up, you just asked your daughter if she’s a whore.”

 

JJ snorted.  

 

Val turned bright red, “I didn’t!”

 

Vinny just raised an eyebrow.  

 

JJ burst out laughing.  When everyone glared at him, he protested, “C’mon!  Vinny and Aunt T all did the eyebrow thing together!  That was awesome!”

 

For the first time that Vinny could remember, brunch was finished in silence.

 

When Aunt Toni was giving Vinny a ride home, she leaned over and asked, “So…  Are you seeing anyone?”

 

“Aunt Toni!”

 

“What?  I’m just asking!  There are a lot of handsome men in that house!”  There was another moment of silence before she added, “You are smart enough to not get knocked up.  Don’t get fired, but if you wanna have a little fun… Well, you’re only young once.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  Vinny had to think about how to word the next bit.  “They are all just one big family. They are really close and take care of each other.   And me. It’s nice.”

 

“Whoa!  Menage a … eight!  You go girl!” Vinny just burst out laughing. Toni smirked, “It makes more sense than that sister wives crap, is all I’m saying.  Especially if you can all still be friends when you convocate in the spring.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Vinny chuckled.

 

“Have you ever searched Angus Beef on a porn site?  It may give you some ideas. Hell, it got me through some lonely times.”

 

Vinny stopped laughing.  “Tristan can’t even go to the grocery store without being molested.  He owns a really good landscaping company and people don’t treat him like people.  Kevin can’t leave the house without a guard because he doesn’t have the legal protection of being recognized as a person.  The guys all have had tough lives. I don’t want to make it any worse for them.”

 

There was another period of awkward silence.  Finally, Toni said, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

\-----

 

No one was home when Vinny got back.  Or at least she couldn’t find anyone. In reality, Kevin was probably there and just ignoring her when she shouted, “Hello?”

 

She was on her way into the kitchen when a quiet voice said, “I don’t want to scare you-”

 

Vinny, of course, screamed and spun around.  There wasn’t anyone there.

 

“Up here,”  It was Thea, he was on the ceiling.

 

Vinny let out a breath, then smiled up at him.  “Where is everyone?”

 

“They went out for lunch.”

 

“Oh.” Vinny thought about that, “Didn’t you want to go?”

 

Thea shrugged, “Yes, but I’m socially awkward.”

 

“Huh.  Well, I’m thirsty, care to join me in the backyard for a beer so I’m not drinking alone?”

 

Thea’s eyes went wide and for a moment Vinny could see that they were multifaceted.  “Are you sure?” he asked softly.

 

“If you don’t mind.  Brunch with my family was kinda hard today and I would rather not be alone.”

 

Thea ran down a wall so that he was standing on the floor, not too close to her.  “Can you tell me what happened?”

 

Vinny pulled one of her bellini coolers out of the fridge.  “I told Ma I quit at the coffee place. She asked if I was sleeping with Bazur.  Well, she suggested that might be why I got a raise.”

 

Thea’s voice was always low and quiet. “That’s really tough.”

 

Vinny nodded and headed out to the garden set on the back patio.  She pulled one of the chairs out and away from the table so that there would be room for Thea to rest next to her.  “I’m still not sure what was worse. That or my Aunt basically telling me to google Tristan porn.”

 

Thea came over close to her and folded his legs so he was resting next to her.  “Have you? Looked up Tristan porn, I mean.”

 

“No!  He asked me not to!  In fact, one of the very first things Bazur told me about any of you was that Tristan didn’t like to talk about it.  Why would I hurt him like that if I know better?”

 

Thea shrugged, “You are sweet so you probably wouldn’t.  But lots of people would be extra curious if they were told not to.”

 

Vinny paused with her drink halfway to her lips.  “You think I’m sweet?”

 

Thea smiled shyly as he nodded.  “You are very kind to us Vinny. Derick is very lucky.  I wish I could be your friend like Kogan or Tristan.”

 

“Aren’t you my friend?  I mean, we didn’t get off to a good start, but I thought we were OK.”

 

Thea ducked his head, “I’m too creepy to be your friend.”

 

“You are?”

 

He nodded.

 

“Well, that’s a shame.  You’re kind of cute.”

 

“Girls don’t like spiders.”

 

Vinny snorted, “Have you never watched those Lucas videos on YouTube?”

 

“Lucas isn’t real Vinny.”

 

Vinny rolled her eyes, “You are missing the point, Thea.”

 

“So tell me.”

 

Vinny sat down her drink.  “You are the nicest construction worker I know and I have a bunch of family in construction.  Plus, you know, eight times the arms just means eight times the hugs.”   
  


Thea ducked his head and went very quiet for a moment.  “Would you let me hug you sometime?”

 

Vinny set down her drink, stood up out of her chair and hugged the drider.  With his abdomen on the ground he was nearly as tall as she was. When he stretched, he was the tallest person in the house.  Thea froze. Then tentatively hugged her back.

 

“I knew it!  Great hugs!”

 

Thea stiffened and started to pull away, but before he was quite able to, Kogan was behind Vinny and his arms were big enough to go around both of their smaller frames.  Vinny just sighed and lay her head on Thea’s shoulder.

 

When Kogan let go, Thea bolted.

 

Vinny sighed, “That wasn’t how I hoped that would go.”

 

“He’s shy.” Kogan shrugged.

  
  



	18. Chapter 18

Derick was in the middle of a hiring blitz, trying to get extra staff to cover Christmas parties.  Vinny hadn’t seen much of him in the last few days. She was back doing morning runs on her own. He would pop in for supper, sometimes but not reliably, mostly she saved him some in the fridge.  Tonight she cornered him on his way through between the closing time and morning deliveries.

 

She was stressed out from school and tried to talk him into a quick and dirty finger fuck.  He laughed and hustled her upstairs.

 

To Tristan’s room.

 

“Um,” she said as Derick knocked on the door.

 

“Trust me,” the werewolf replied as Tristan opened the door.

 

“Not if I can help it,” Tristan rumbled.  “Hi Vinny.”

 

“It’s a bit of an emergency,” Derick explained.  “Can we come in?”

 

Tristan stepped aside. Derick pulled Vinny into the room and had her out of her pjs in seconds.  He was kissing and stroking her breasts, biting gently when she got distracted by Tristan there. He nibbled along her collar bone as his fingers dipped into her panties and brushed against her clit.

 

“You are dripping,” he observed.

 

Vinny just whined, her eyes squeezed shut.

 

“Now,” Derick almost purred into her skin.  “Do you really want me fumbling in your panties for the five minutes I have, or would you rather have Tristan fuck you until you can’t walk straight?  Be honest now.”

 

“Jesus,” Tristan murmured.

 

Vinny’s hips bucked as Derick pulled his fingers away. Her eyes snapped open and looked between the two of them.  “I can’t just use Tristan like that!”

 

“Yes you can,” Tristan offered, adjusting his pants.

 

Her eyes went wide.

 

Derick looked at his watch, “I bet he can make you come in the next three minutes.  If I win, you stay here until morning.”

 

Tristan dropped to his knees, Derick supported her ass and the minotaur hooked one leg over his horn.  Her panties were pulled to the side. “Need me to stop?”

 

Vinny stared at him in wonder and shook her head, no.

 

Tristan’s tongue was soft and unbelievably long.  He pushed it into her for a moment before licking her clit and replacing it with one thick, callused finger.  It only took him a moment to find the right spot and rub it as he lapped at her. Vinny whimpered as her leg gave way, but Tristan was holding her up.

 

She didn’t even notice when Derick snuck out, quietly closing the door behind him.

 

Tristan kept his fingers moving as he carried her to the bed and lay her on her back.  He worked her until she was moments away from cumming again, then stopped and pulled back.  Vinny gasped and gave him a hurt look.

 

“Come sit in my lap.”

 

She looked over at him.  His sweat pants were still in place but his cock was straining to get out.  She swallowed a couple of times, “That looks really big.”

 

Tristan snorted.  “Why don’t you try grinding against it for a while?  Fun for everyone.”

 

Vinny ended up straddling Tristan on her knees in a motion that was reminiscent of the way she ended up walking funny after riding Derick’s face, but this time Tristan’s huge hands were helping to support her.  That was good, but she missed the fullness of his fingers.

 

“Condoms?” she gasped.

 

Tristan chuckled and leaned over to the night stand.  They were XXL, but Tristan was the first guy she might actually believe needed them.    “You are really intimidating, you know,” Vinny commented as she rolled one down his shaft.

 

Tristan caught her ankles and flipped her on her back.  Vinny pulled her thighs open as wide as she could. Tristan was busy kissing her neck and her breasts as he rubbed his cock between her lips.   He kissed his way down her body and eased one finger, then a second into her. Then he twisted his wrist so he could thumb her clit as he watched her face.  She pressed both fists to her mouth as she came, clenching around his fingers. Tristan kept working her and another was close behind.

 

Her legs were shaking now.  Tristan cupped the back of her head with sticky fingers and kissed her deeply as he ground his cock against her clit.  Vinny came again then squirmed, completely over stimulated. She wiggled under him and angled her hips so she could wrap her trembling legs around his waist.  It took some of the pressure off her clit.

 

“Please!” she gasped.

 

Tristan ground her into the mattress.  His back arched and he bellowed as he filled the condom.  Vinny found her hips bucking in response. Tristan slid a hand behind her back so that when he rolled over, he took her with him.

 

Vinny’s legs were still shaking; she chuckled to herself.

 

“You ok?” Tristan asked.

 

“I am very ok.  I’m also wondering how much work Derick put into getting me into this room.”

 

Tristan considered that, “You know I didn’t put him up to that, right?”

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

“Probably a lot.  It’s a werewolf thing, sharing.” Tristan admitted.  “Derick is a cast iron pan and he likes to watch.” Then something occurred to him, “Did you feel pressured?”

 

“Not exactly.  I like sex. We were having a lot of sex.  Then after I slept over in your room, we had sex maybe twice.   Since then he has been too busy. It was like getting hooked on the good stuff, then he cut me off.”

 

“I hope this was good stuff.”

 

That flat out made her laugh, “You have to know that it was.”

 

Tristan shifted uncomfortably, “I could feel you cum on my fingers.  The rest though… I’m used to actresses faking it. I’m not always sure I can tell.”

 

“Really?  Because I can’t move my legs like that voluntarily.”

 

“Huh.  I’ll keep that in mind.” Tristan yawned.  Vinny yawned back at him. Tristan wiggled away, pulling off the condom and tossing it in the wastebasket.  “You stay here, I’ll go get you some juice.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Nope!  After sex always drink and pee.  It’s the rule.”

 

Vinny just shook her head.  As he opened the door, she called out, “Pants!”

 

Tristan threw her a smirk and sauntered out without them.

 

\----

 

Derick came home in the wee hours of the morning.  He snuck into Tristan’s room. Vinny and the minotaur were passed out on the bed.  The room smelled like sex. There was a glass and an empty carton of orange juice on the side table.  He groaned and palmed his dick through his pants.

 

He took a moment to scrub the bar smell off then squeezed into Tristan’s bed behind Vinny.  She stirred a little and rolled to look at him. Derick smiled at her in the darkness. “Did you have fun?”

 

Vinny nodded sleepily.

 

“I’m glad.  Are you going to be walking funny tomorrow?”

 

“No,” she murmured.

 

“Darn.”

 

Vinny snorted and punched him.   “It was strictly outercourse tonight.”

 

“Huh.  Well, I’ve seen what’s in his pants.  I can’t say I blame you.”

 

Tristan grumbled and rolled over, “Not as much fun when a girl takes one look and panics.”

 

“I didn’t panic!” Vinny protested.

 

Tristan snorted like only a minotaur could, “You were squeezing my fingers tight enough that it wasn’t going to work.  This way everyone had fun and no one got hurt.” He spooned Vinny tighter to himself, “You have class in the morning and I have to go prune an espalier orchard.  Go to sleep, little girl.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't link to my Patreon page, but I have one. They are more than ten chapters ahead and they get to vote on which pairing happens next. I am also running Earl and Girl updates weekly as well as weekly Mistaken updates, if either of those strike your fancy. You should be able to find me via google.
> 
> I am hoping to put my were wolf story up on amazon so...


	19. Chapter 19

Vinny really was planning on going for a run, but it turns out cumming so hard that your legs shake leaves you with muscle cramps afterwards.  Not in the same places that Derick left her aching though. She snorted into Tristan’s pillow imagining what kind of work out you would need or could get fucking.  The phrase ‘three more reps on the minotaur, then back to the werewolf’ floated through her mind.

 

As it was she was sitting gingerly on a chair (not Kevin, she checked) drinking coffee and eating toast as Derick was out for his run by himself.

 

Tristan had fixed her breakfast, then kissed her head on his way out to work.  Now it was just her and Kogan who was reading the paper with his glasses perched on the end of his nose.

 

He sighed and put down the paper.  As he took off his reading glasses, Kogan looked at her, “Are you alright?”

 

“Sure?”

 

“Did Derick pressure you into sleeping with Tristan?”

 

Vinny blinked, “Not exactly.”

 

Kogan narrowed his eyes and looked at her.  Vinny looked away. Kogan made the strangest little orc noise that there really wasn’t a human equivalent for, it startled Vinny enough that she looked back at him.  “Look. I’m not bothered by who you choose to fuck, as long as it is your choice. Hell, you’ve never been to an orc wedding, but remember that bar I took you to? It had a pool table.  Orcs have group marriages and the wedding is basically we put down a drop cloth and watch while everyone welcomes the new member to the family. It’s a pool table because we break less substantial furniture.  I’m not trying to shame you, but I will kick the pup’s head in if this wasn’t your choice.”

 

Vinny nearly choked on her toast at that last bit.  “I was raised catholic; I needed a push to get over the monogamy thing.  But it was my choice and I knew I could say no.”

 

Kogan nodded.  “Good.” He put his glasses back on and opened the paper with a snap.  “It’s OK if you need to take some time to process all of that. Just because it happened once doesn’t mean you have to make it a regular thing.  Not unless you want to.”

 

Vinny finished her breakfast and headed to the kitchen.  As soon as her back was turned, Kevin called out, “Kogan wants his name on your roster but is too afraid to ask.”

 

Vinny froze then peeked over her shoulder.  Kogan had his eyes fixed firmly on his paper but was blushing.  “Is that true?”

 

“I’m too old for you.”

 

“That isn’t a no,” Kevin pointed out.

 

Vinny could only reply, “Huh.”

 

“You’re going to be late for class,” Kogan said without looking at her.

 

“Shit!” Vinny hobbled off.

 

\----

 

That night, Vinny made a platter of  [ Smitten Kitchen’s ratatouille ](https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/rat-a-too-ee-for-you-ee/) and quinoa.  It smelled amazing and everyone dived right in, chatting about how their days went.  Vinny just watched them all in awe. It really was like one big family.

 

She didn’t know how to ask what she really needed to know.  She had be practicing in her head all afternoon, but she still wasn’t sure how to even ask.  So she sat there picking at her food, lost in thought.

 

“Vinny?” Thea asked.  “Are you ok?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Really?  Because you’ve moved that piece of pepper four times, but you aren’t actually eating anything.”

 

That made people stop and look up at her.

 

“I have no idea how to even bring this up and I’m terribly afraid that mentioning it will be another case of me being hugely misinformed except even worse than the jello incident.”  Vinny was prattling a bit but working up to it.

 

Derick, cleared his throat and gave her an out, “This is about us all being a pack marriage, isn’t it?”

 

Vinny swallowed and nodded, “Is that really true?”

 

They were all quiet for a moment.

 

Then Kevin announced, “Yup!” and dived into dinner.

 

Vinny blinked.  “Yup? Just like that?  I hate to say this, but could someone who isn’t Kevin comment?”

 

Thea went next, “Which answer will make you not quit?  I don’t want you to leave, Vinny.”

 

“I’m not planning on quitting,” she replied.

 

“Are you sure?” Thea pressed.  “If we are, your mom would want you to quit.”

 

Vinny licked her lips, “Ma only gets any say in her own sex life.  Not any of yours, or mine.”

 

That made Kevin stop eating.  Vinny hadn’t figured out how to reliably tell if he was looking at her or not, but everyone else was, with a faint deer in the headlights expression, now that she thought about it.  She coughed, “Is that a yes then?”

 

There was a round of everyone avoiding her gaze.

 

Kogan was the one who finally owned up, “It isn’t really a formal thing. We just sort of help out when needed.  So, in the spring, when-”

 

“Don’t,” Thea whimpered.

 

Kogan stopped for a moment then said, “We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of son.”

 

Bazur shrugged, “I’m ace, but I’m not averse to giving someone a hand, if they need one.”

 

Vinny looked at Dren,  who shrugged, “I like warm wet spaces, except I taste with my whole body. Kevin is adaptable.  The others don’t really do it for me, but I can make warm wet spaces for them if they need it.”

 

“So… all of you are having sex with each other on a ‘as needed’ basis?”

 

Slow nodding.  Kogan helped himself to some quinoa, “What brings this up?”

 

Vinny took some then passed the casserole to the left.    “I kind of took advantage of Tristan last night.”

 

“No, you didn’t.”

 

“And it’s nice having someone to cuddle with.” Vinny continued, ignoring him.

 

Kevin snickered, “I’ll cuddle any time you want.”

 

“Can you say that without sounding sinister?” Dren asked.

 

Derick frowned, “I don’t think he can, actually, but I think it’s fairly safe to say we all consider you part of the family.”

 

Vinny rolled her eyes, she wasn’t really worried about him.  There were three of the guys who barely interacted with her. She was worried this would be a problem for them and they wouldn’t say until it got really bad.  “Well, I know  _ you _ do, but there are practical considerations.  Like how is Bazur going to feel if he’s not the only one who comes to movie night not wearing pants?”

 

“Honestly, it would take some of the pressure off,” Bazur admitted.  “I’m not good at remembering. I have had to put a sticky note up on the doors in my bedroom and office.”

 

Vinny nodded, “Dren, you have enough stress in your life, I don’t want to add to it.  Thea - I make you uncomfortable. I’m glad you don’t want me to quit but I don’t want you to be any more weirded out by me than you already are.”

 

Dren shrugged as he was slowly dissolving and absorbing a piece of eggplant.  “You won’t stress me out. And anytime you need someone to keep you warm, my bathtub is your bathtub.”

 

Vinny blinked as she tried to imagine how that would work.  She would need to wax everywhere for that. But Dren was warm and silky and gave great massages.

 

Derick’s nose twitched and suddenly he was grinning.  Vinny blushed and looked at her plate, then she caught herself and forced herself to met Dren’s gaze.  He was still very calm and off hand. Nothing ever seemed to phase him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

Dren nodded.  “Please do. I’m not big enough or scary enough to walk you home after class, but I would be more than happy to wait up for you.”

 

Thea just nodded, wide eyed and silent.

 

It was Kogan who said, “Anything you need, you can come to me,” but there was a chorus of agreement from around the table.

 

Vinny had no idea what to say to that, so she just nodded, “Thank you.”  After a bite of zucchini she managed, “I promise not to be upset if any of you ask me, if you are also OK if I say no sometimes.” That was met with a thoughtful silence, so she continued, “I don’t want to be rude but I do want to get this all out on the table.  Bazur isn’t paying me to fuck you-”

 

“I certainly am not!” the gargoyle sounded somewhat offended.

 

“But I… don’t mind a friends with benefits arrangement as long everyone is polite about it and everyone is ok with saying no, if they want.  On an as needed basis.”

 

Tristan cleared his throat, “While we are getting it all out there, we have a no pictures policy, for obvious reasons.”

 

Vinny blinked, “I hadn’t really considered that.”

 

Tristan gave her a look, “You should.  No revenge porn.” Everyone was nodded.

 

“That sounds reasonable.  Anything else?”

 

“Kevin can make his dick look like a rubber duck!” Thea blurted out before covering his mouth with both hands.

 

Kevin snorted, “Yeah, and if you rub it, it will get hard and then squirt you.”

 

Vinny looked at Kogan, “Really?”

 

Kogan shrugged, “Sadly, yes, so if you see a rubber duck sitting on a chair or table, you may want to think twice before picking it up.”

 

“Your dick is a duck,” she said flatly.

 

“Or a tentacle, or the usual boring shape.  Lady’s choice,” he grinned showing off those needle like teeth mimics are famous for.

 

“Huh.”

 

\-----

 

Kogan picked Vinny up after late class.  The first thing he said once they were out of ear shot of her friends was, “Now, really, how do you feel about all of this?”

 

“Kogan, I’m here on a scholarship.  I don’t have time for a boyfriend who is going to get pissy because he wants to take me to a frat party and I have a paper due on Monday.  I really don’t have time for the emotional turmoil of finding out he went without me and had a threesome with Trish and Olivia.”

 

“Christ.  Someone did that to you?”

 

“Yeah, second year.  The thing is, I still like sex.  I just need it to be simple.”

 

Kogan shook his head, “What you need is someone who will be respectful.”  He thought for a few moments, then added, “Or someones. That I can promise we have covered.”

 

“Except for Kevin.”

 

“Kevin is an asshole, but I’ve never seen him be malicious just mischievous.  He was really angry with himself after the jello thing. He wanted to have some power in the relationship.  Something to tease you about. He wasn’t really thinking. He’s been better since then, hasn’t he?”

 

Vinny had to think about that.  “He may have downgraded from asshole to jerk.  Sometimes I can see that he’s trying. Other times he’s…” she struggled for a moment and settled on “dismissive.  Like what I think doesn’t really matter.”

 

Kogan nodded, “You have power over him.  What he eats. What shell care he gets. If he gets to go out.  That pisses him off. He likes you anyway and that pisses him off even more.  I’m afraid Mr Moodswing is just going to be like that for a while.”

 

By then they had crossed campus and Vinny laughed as she opened the door.  

 

There was a new front entry way table.

 

It had a rubber ducky sitting on it.

 

Vinny ignored it as she walked up the stairs.  As she made it to the first landing, she heard Kogan say, “Son, that woman is carrying a good twenty pounds of textbooks.  You are very lucky she didn’t just drop them on your duck.”

 

As she looked over her shoulder, she saw the duck melt and be absorbed into the table.  She chuckled all the way to her room.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it was late this week. Work has gotten weird.


	20. Chapter 20

Ever since the discussion at dinner, Thea had been trying to unobtrusively watch Vinny.  He was not particularly good at it so whenever she caught him he would gasp and try harder to hide.  The problem was that he was easily the biggest person in the place. It wasn’t exactly easy for him to hide.  

 

One day Vinny just followed him back to his room and knocked on the door when he pushed it closed without a backwards glance.

 

“Can I come in?”

 

Silence.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Would you rather talk to me through the door so you don’t have to make eye contact?”

 

“Is that weird?”

 

Yes. “Maybe a little but I’m OK with it if that’s what you need.”

 

Thea opened the door slowly.  He peeked at her, then climbed up on the ceiling as he pushed the door open with one of his legs.  Vinny came in there was a chair in the corner that she was pretty sure was Kevin but the only other furniture as a dresser.

 

“Kevin?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Chairs are meant to be sat on.”

 

“Yes they are.”

 

Vinny sat gingerly on Kevin.  He sighed. She blushed a little and kept looking straight ahead.

 

“What can I do for you Thea?”

 

There was a long pause before he spoke, “I, um….  I want to sleep on your ceiling.” Then he hurried to add, “But I know that’s weird and creepy and you will say no.”

 

Vinny considered this.  Kevin was being surprisingly still.  She was expecting him to grope her ass or something and was vaguely disappointed when he didn’t try anything.

 

“Why do you want to sleep on my ceiling?”  She could hear him pacing on his ceiling but didn’t look up.

 

“I get really nervous when you look at me.  I just thought it would be away for me to get used to being around you,” he whispered.

 

“And I would be less scary because I couldn’t stare at you,” Vinny mused.  “That isn’t a horrible idea.”

 

Kevin snorted. 

 

“Your room has lots of height, so I wouldn’t be too close.  I would leave if it gets too weird.”

 

Vinny nodded, “I would be willing to give that a try.  I mean, there would have to be a few conditions. No watching me get dressed or undressed.  And only in my room, not if I’m in someone else’s. And I’m so not comfortable with you jerking off while I’m asleep.  But… if this is really just being in the room while I’m sleeping. Yeah. I’m OK with that.”

 

“Really?”  Thea sounded shocked.

 

Vinny smiled at the wall, “Sure.  You are a nice guy and I would like to be able to spend time with you.  Where you didn’t run off all the time. If this will help…. We just have to make it not be weird.”

 

\----

 

What Thea didn’t tell Vinny is that the project he was supposed to be working on was more than two weeks behind.  This left him free to spend all night watching her sleep, then go to bed while she was at school. It was weird, but it worked.  He got used to being around her and it felt less like staring when she looked at him.

 

He had been nesting in the peak of the roof in her room for about a week the night Kogan brought her home from school then followed her upstairs.  The came in and she turned on the gas fireplace before announcing, “I’m going to give Kogan a back rub. It’s up to you if you want to stay or go Thea.”

 

Thea froze, uncertain what to say.  In the silence, Kogan answered for him, “Thea will want to stay.  This won’t take very long. It’s just a sore shoulder.”

 

That mean he got to watch Kogan pull off his shirt.  He knew the old orc was still really built, Kogan spent a lot of time using the weights down stairs with Tristan spotting for him.  Vinny caught the jar of ointment Kogan tossed her and dug out a good finger full. Kogan lay flat on her bed and she rubbed his shoulder.

 

Then his back.

 

Then lower on his back.

 

Thea swallowed.  “If he took off his pants, you could, um, rub his hips too.”

 

They both froze.

 

Kogan said softly, “Vinny?”

 

“Are you wanting a no pants massage Kogan?”she replied quietly

 

“I’m old enough to take care of that sort of thing on my own.”

 

Vinny hummed for a moment, then replied, “That isn’t exactly what I asked though is it?”  Kogan snorted. “Thea? Do you want a no pants massage or do you just want to watch?” she added.

 

Thea wanted to bolt for the door.  Instead he squeezed his eyes shut. “Can I watch?”

 

Kogan shrugged.  Vinny hesitated. “Is that your thing, Thea?   You like to watch?”

 

Kogan answered, “He gets nervous when people stare at him.  Now, personally, I don’t have performance anxiety. But how often have you had someone watch you?”

 

Vinny coughed, “Um…  ” She thought about it.  Thea was generally very helpful in a completely sweet and shy way.  He was usually the person to get anything she needed off a high shelf.  He was pretty handy for opening jars. He was even a surprisingly good conversationalist.

 

As long as you didn’t make eye contact.

 

She knew she was being mean when she went over and leaned against the door, blocking the exit.  “What exactly would you like to watch, Thea?” she asked not looking at either of them.

 

There was a long moment where no one said anything.

 

Thea mumbled something.

 

Vinny frowned, “Sorry, I missed that.”

 

Kogan was suddenly looking at the ceiling, “I’m not going to translate that one son, you have to ask yourself.”

 

“Um… Can I watch… uh…. Could Kogan give you a back rub”

 

“Just a back rub?” she asked.

 

Thea nodded, but she wasn’t watching him, so he had to actually say, “Yes.”

 

It wasn’t as errotic as he had been hoping for.  Vinny stripped down to her panties and lay on her stomach.  Kogan rubbed oil into her back until she fell asleep. Then he turned to go.

 

“Please stay,” Thea begged.

 

“I’m too old to try to cram into a double bed when there is already someone in it.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

Then he left.

 

Thea was too upset by that to notice the obvious set up.  Vinny was asleep. She was naked. She wasn’t under the covers.  Thea just stared at her in mounting horror as he realized he was going to have to be the one to do something about that. Crawling across the ceiling and down the wall was fine.  Turning off the fireplace was fine.

 

Walking over to the bed and pulling the covers over her was really hard.  He was shaking by the time he got to the bed and was living in fear of her waking up to look at him as he pulled the blanket over him.  It had barely hit her shoulder and he was rushing for the door.

 

“Thanks Thea,” Vinny mumbled in her sleep.

 

He turned to look at her.  She was still laying on her stomach on the bed, her hair covering her face so that he couldn’t tell if she was looking at him or not.  He spent the night watching her sleep. It was relaxing in a way that he didn’t understand.

 

\----

 

When Vinny woke up she had a brief moment of confusion about why she wasn’t in her pajamas.  Then last night came back to her. She was still under the covers when she said, “Thea, I need to talk to you and I need you to not run away.”  It was a gamble she had no idea if he was even there.

 

Not until he mumbled, “OK.”

 

She honestly didn’t even know where to start.   “It is a straight up voyeurism thing or is it you wanting someone to touch you but being too shy?”

 

“Both?”

 

Vinny nodded.  “So… if I was to break out my battery operated boyfriend and close my eyes, would that be better or worse than inviting you to touch me with all the lights off?”

 

“Um… better.  Because if I’m watching from the ceiling, you wouldn’t accidently touch me.  But it would be even better if you had a blind fold so I didn’t have to worry about you opening your eyes.”

 

Vinny considered all of this.  “Would you want to touch me if you knew I wasn’t going to touch you back?”

 

Thea felt his mouth go dry.  “That would be…” he struggled for the right words, “really nice,” he finished lamely.

 

Vinny nodded.  “How about we just try that around the house for a while?  You practice touching my back and I practice not touching you back?”

 

“Really?”  he sounded so pleased it broke her heart a little.

 

“Sure.  Let’s see how that goes.”

 

She made it to the school early to look up drider sex.  Then she wished she wouldn’t have. It was basically spider sex.  Complete with the female killing and possibly eating the male after he injected his genetic material into her.  There were a bunch of male drider/female human porn available, but that would have to wait until after school.

 

Or maybe she shouldn’t.  Tristan didn’t want her watching him.  On the other hand, this wasn’t actually watching Thea.  No, it was watching someone fetishize Thea.

 

She was making supper that night when she heard the familiar scramble of drider legs on the ceiling.

 

“Vinny?”

 

“Uh huh?”

 

“I’m going to set the table now.”

 

“Thanks Thea.”

 

“Um…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Can I touch your back on my way passed?”

 

“Sure?”

 

His touch was so ghost-like it made her shiver.  “Thea? You need to press a little harder, that just tickles.”

 

The next one was as she was peeling carrots, “That was much better.”

 

After that it was like a dam bursting.  Thea took ever opportunity to brush against or touch her back.  But only her back, maybe her hair on a good day. That was fair, she had only given him permission to touch her back.  She just couldn’t see how that was satisfying for him.

  
  



	21. Chapter 21

Vinny almost danced out of her lab that night.   She saw Kogan and beamed at him, “Guess who got top mark on her exam!”

 

“Really?”

 

She flung herself at him.  Kogan held her tight and twirled her in a circle.  “That’s my girl!”

 

She laughed.

 

Kogan realized what he had said and stiffened.  Vinny noticed. She let go of him and wobbled a bit.  Kogan made sure she had her feet under her.

 

She spent the walk home gushing about the problem she had solved and why that was so awesome while Kogan was lost in thought.

 

The house was actually in sight when she stopped and looked at him, “Something’s wrong.”

 

Kogan froze and searched the surrounding trees for signs of a threat.

 

Vinny rolled her eyes.  “Something is wrong with you.  You were all happy that I did well, then suddenly you got all weird.  You haven’t said a single word since we left the Chemistry building. So… what’s wrong?”

 

“Well, you’re not really my girl, Vinny.” Kogan explained.

 

She just looked at him.  “But… wasn’t that … I mean… the whole thing at the bar, with the credit card.  I thought I was part of your family.”

 

“I... It’s different,” he protested.

 

“How?”

 

“It just is,”  he started walking toward the house again.  Vinny didn’t move. Eventually he came back for her.

 

She didn’t say anything, she just looked at him.

 

“Fuck.  Ok.” He took a deep breath and blew it out.  “When you first turned up, cute and young and so enthusiastic.  I thought it would be like adopting a daughter.”

 

“And?”

 

“And… that isn’t exactly how I feel about you now.” Kogan growled and rubbed his face.

 

Vinny looked puzzled.  Then understanding dawned.  “And that bothers you?”

 

“Yeah.  I’m too old for you.”

 

“Derick is older than you and you never seemed bothered by that,” she argued.

 

“That’s different.  You two go out and no one thinks he’s your grampa.”

 

Vinny just snorted.  “Kogan, first of all, no one thinks you’re my grampa.  And second, my nonno was not that sexy. You are just being ridiculous.” With that she started walking back towards the house.

 

Kogan was dumbfounded for a moment.  Then he called after her, “You think I’m sexy?”

 

She turned and smiled and blew him a kiss before waiting to cross the street.  When he caught up she elbowed him, “You know what they are thinking, right?”

 

“What?” he asked, still a little shocked.

 

“They look at you and think, damn!  He’s got pull.” Then she laughed all they way to the front door where she stopped with her hand on the door knob.  “And they would be right.”

 

Kogan caught her hand as she unlocked the door.  He looked at her. She looked at him. “I want to kiss you now.”

 

Vinny smiled at him, “That could be nice.”

 

Kogan leaned forward and, to be fair, quite a bit down.  He looked at her face and kissed head first. Then he tipped up her face and slowly kissed her lips.  When he stopped Vinny staggered towards him.

 

He watched her thoughtfully for a moment.  “Does this mean I get to tuck you in?”

 

Vinny looked up at him, “Yeah I think it does.”

 

Kogan moved her hands to his shoulders, then he put his hands on her ass.  It was a simple thing to lift her up, she wrapped her legs around him and he held her with one big hand as he opened the door with the other.  He toed off his shoes and walked her up the stairs while kissing her neck. He brought her into his room and tossed her on the bed like she weighed nothing.  

 

He stalked toward her, “Tell me what you want, little girl.”

 

Vinny gasped.

 

Kogan pulled off her shoes and rubbed her foot.  Then her calf. Then he walked his fingers up her thigh.  “How much pull do I have exactly?” Kogan chuckled then he turned away to pull off his shirt.  

 

Vinny crawled to the edge of the bed to run her hands over his back.  “Very sexy.”

 

He turned to face her, “I’m scared, my chest hair is going grey and -” he stopped as she caught him by the shoulders and kissed him.  It was sloppy and needy. Kogan was surprised at how desperate it felt.

 

“Are you sure I’m the one you want tonight?”

 

“Yes!” Vinny gasped, “Please tell me you have condoms and that we’re are going to need them.”

 

“What?”

 

“Crap.”  Vinny sighed and pulled away from him.  “For all of the big talk about friends with benefits-”

 

“You need someone to take care of you?”

 

“Kogan, tell me how sexy smart girls are and ride me into the sunset.”

 

He blinked, “I can do that, but I wasn’t expecting to.  I don’t have any condoms Vinny.”

 

“I do!  Back in a flash!” she climbed off the bed, dropped her coat on his threshold, her sweater three steps further along.  She stepped out of her pants halfway up the steps, nearly giving Kogan a heart attack as she balanced on one leg to do so. He hurried after her then in case she fell.  Her bra was tossed off into a corner where he couldn’t see and she was out of her panties when he followed her into her room carrying most of her clothes. She grabbed a box out of her bedside table without even turning on the lights then turned to leave and crashed into him.

 

Kogan dropped the clothes and caught her as she wobbled, slamming his lips down on hers as he held her steady.  He was still holding her shoulders as she went for his belt. He pulled away with a chuckle.

 

Vinny made a little frustrated noise but stopped trying to get into his pants.

 

“Haven’t the boys been taking care of you?”

 

“Kogan, neither of them will actually fuck me.  I can’t complain because they are very good at what they do, but I don’t always want to be on top.”

 

He groaned, whatever concerns he had about this, she was finding all the right things to say.  It has been weeks of thinking about her in the shower and feeling guilty afterwards. And now she was here practically begging for his cock.

 

“Lay down, I’m not going to rush this.”  She scrambled away from him and wiggled under the covers.  Kogan sighed. He didn’t really want to turn on the overhead lights.  When he was young he had washboard abs. These days he had softer edges.  He had managed to avoid the beer gut so many of his squad now sported, but he wasn’t that sculpted ‘carved from marble shape’ that orcs were so famous for.

 

No.  He needed some mood lighting.  He looked over at the fireplace and perked up.  If he was going to looking at her body, he would need to keep her warm.  It was easy enough to adjust the gas to give both heat and enough light for him to see her reactions.

 

He caught her face between his hands and spend some time making love to her mouth with his tongue.  He was patient enough to wait until she was squirming with need from that alone before he cupped her breast and drew his thumb over her nipple making her nearly arch off the bed.  He smiled at that. The one thing he could offer her was experience.

 

He was still supporting the back of her neck with one hand and he stroked down her body with the other.   All the way from her cheek, down her neck, between her breasts, over her navel, pausing for a moment to run his hand over her piercing a couple of times before he dipped between her legs, which she obediently opened for him.  He cupped her mound for a moment, then stroked down her thigh to her knee which he grabbed firmly to pull her leg up.

 

“Fuck, you are small enough that I could take you just like this.  One hand on your knee the other on your throat.”

 

Vinny moaned.  Kogan grinned and rubbed her thigh a couple of times, carefully avoiding getting too close to her clit.  “Time to own up, Vinny. Can you even cum from just a dick or do you still need someone pressing your buttons?”  Now he rubbed her clit hard enough to make her jump. Of course, once she did, he stopped.

 

“Kogan!”

 

“Answer the question Vinny.” Then he remembered what she had said earlier.  That sounded suspiciously like a praise kink, which made sense given how hard she worked.  “Be a good girl and tell me what you need, darling.”

 

“I want you inside of me!”

 

“Really?”  He opened her lips and slid in his pinky, giving it a little wiggle.  She made a noise of frustration. “Be more specific. You’re smart, dazzle me with some big girl words.”  As he slid his finger out, he ran it up and over he clit, making her twitch. “I’m not some young bull who has unlimited do overs until you get what you want Vinny.  You need to be specific.”

 

Vinny went limp against the hand supporting her neck, she took a couple of deep breaths, “No.  I haven’t ever cum without having my clit rubbed.”

 

“Good girl!  See? That wasn’t so hard, and this goes so much better when everyone says what they need.”  Now that the fireplace had warmed the room up abit he took off his belt. “How much topped do you want to be?” he asked looking at it thoughtfully.  When he looked back,her eyes were wide and he grinned. She shook her head, no, so he dropped it on the floor. “Nah. Only bad girls need to be spanked.  The one who got the top mark on her exam needs to be spoiled. Come on princess, show me.”

 

She had the most wide eyed, innocent look on her face. Slightly ashamed but full of lust.

 

“I want to see what it takes to make you cum,” he rumbled softly.  “I want you to show me how hard I can play.”

 

Blushing so hard, Vinny opened her legs and rubbed a finger over her nub. “Like this,” she whispered. 

 

“Nah. I know you can do better.  Show me how good it can be. Do your toes curl?  Does your pussy clench? Show me what it looks like when you cum.”

 

Vinny whispered, “Kogan, you don’t even have your pants off yet.  Are you just messing with me here?”

 

So he took off his pants revealing a very full looking pair of boxer briefs. He sat in the edge of the bed, “Vinny my sweet, I am almost two feet taller than you and nearly triple your weight. In the interests of us both enjoying this, there are a few things I need to know first.  You gotta just trust me baby girl. I know what I’m doing.”

 

Vinny took a deep breath and tried to relax.  “I’ve never done this with someone watching.”

 

Kogan leaned forward and kissed her some more. While his lips were on hers, he guided her fingers between her legs.  Her kisses got a bit breathy as her fingers started to move. Kogan stroked her breast and just kept kissing her until she couldn’t focus on that anymore.  

 

Then he just watched. When her breathing got erratic and her toes started to clench he reached down an snatched her fingers away. 

 

Vinny’s eyes snapped open and she stared at him in a mix of confusion and betrayal. Kogan was already in the process of flipping her over onto her belly.

 

“There’s a good girl. Now hands and knees, then lean forward and show me that ass.”

 

Vinny heard the sound of a condom wrapper opening as she got her knees under her. Kogan was back a moment later pulling her hips back towards him. He started rubbing her clit as the tip of his cock bobbed against her slit.

 

Then Kogan finally slid in, slowly.  Vinny could feel herself trying to open and stretch around him.  He didn’t just slam in but rather rocked into her without actually bottoming out.

 

Vinny got impatient and rocked back towards him.  She immediately regretted it as he went in deeper than she liked and she had to pull away with a gasp.

 

“You still OK?” He asked softly.

 

“Yeah.  Not quite that much, ok?”

 

Kogan just snorted.  “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

 

With his hand on her pubic mound to hold her in place while also fingering her clit.  He pulled back, then slammed in somehow managing to stop at the right point to make Vinny moan.  “Christ, Vinny! You are tight! You will feel this in the morning!” He dimly thought so would his knees but he was more focused on how her tight little body felt as she came and clenched hard enough to force him to slow his pace a little.    He took the opportunity to give her ass a swat. “We aren’t done yet,” he growled. 

 

Vinny was panting; her arms were shaking, it was easy enough to push her hips forward so she unbalanced and fell to her elbows.  “Fuck! Sometime, I going to take you out to the middle of nowhere and fuck you over my bike, just like this. Pull your skirt up, push those panties aside and wreck that tight little pussy.” Kogan was snapping his hips with every word, rubbing her clit and watching her stuff her fingers into her mouth to stay quiet. “Some place where you can scream loud enough to scare the birds.”

 

That did it, her whole body jerked and her thighs started shaking.  Kogan pulled out, flipped her onto her back like it was nothing, then pushed her legs toward her chest.  From this angle he could bottom out against her thighs. He fucked her hard and fast. He came as she was writhing, eyes squeezed shut, both hands clamped over her mouth as her back arched.  He stayed as deep in her as he could until she put her feet on his chest and pushed him away.

 

He rolled  her onto her side and covered her with a blanket.  Then he kissed her cheek and went to dispose of the condom.

 

“You’re coming back, right?” she murmured.

 

“Do you want me to?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

It was a tight squeeze to get them both into her bed, but Kogan made it work.

 

\----

 

Thea had been waiting in the spider’s nest in the very peek of the roof since before Vinny was late getting home from her lab. He  was watching wide eyed. He had one hand over his mouth so he didn’t make any noise. The other was gently stroking himself. Fuck, he thought, this is bad.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have pretty much reached the point where the new chapters will be the ones voted on by my patreon readers. That has been a really cool experiment. I post Tuesday, they vote until Friday, then I have the weekend to write the chapter with the characters most voted for in the comments. 
> 
> Both Thea and Kogan will be getting more action, in your next few updates.
> 
> Kevin has been voted up for the last three weeks in a row.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> non cannon - to be deleted

  
  


Thea didn’t comment on her sex life.  Which was good. She had started spending the occasional night in Kogan’s room.  She had no idea if he slept in her room when she wasn’t there. She strong suspected he didn’t.  Thea was very careful to follow whatever rules she laid out. As though he was afraid she would leave if he accidentally brushed against her ass or something.

 

That gave her pause.

 

She would be totally OK, with him touching her … basically anywhere, but she hadn’t told him that.

 

So Friday night she ignored Tristan’s invite to go to a sports bar he liked and went to her own room instead.  She was sitting on the bed in her pj’s when Thea came in. By now she was used to not looking up.

 

Once he was on the ceiling she asked, “Thea?  Do you want to touch me anywhere else?”

 

She wasn’t expecting the note of panic when he replied, “I don’t want you to touch me!”

 

“Whoa!  OK! I wasn’t...  I won’t do that then.”

 

They were both awkwardly silent for a long time.  “I’m not going to push you into anything,” Vinny said softly.  “But if there is something you want… I won’t judge you for asking.”

 

The silence was long enough than Vinny gave up.  She crawled under the covers and turned out the light.  “Good night, Thea.”

 

She was almost asleep when he asked, “Would you wear a blindfold and let my rub your back?”

 

“Just my back?”

 

“Um… humans on their bellies don’t have good range of motion for you to grab me while I’m distracted.”

 

“I wouldn’t!”

 

“I know.  I’m just nervous.  I would feel safer.”

 

“Ok.”  Vinny thought for a moment.  “Do you have a blindfold?”

 

“No.”

 

“Wait here please.”  She left the room and was back a moment later with a sleep mask.  “It’s Derick’s for when he needs to sleep during the day.”

 

She didn’t say anything else before putting it on and laying down on her stomach.

 

“You are really OK with this?”

 

“Yup.  I mean warn me so I don’t jump, but have at it.”  Neither of them moved for a moment. “Did you want me change into a camisole or something so you can touch my actual skin?”

 

Thea nearly swallowed his tongue.  “Yes, please.”

 

“Aww!  You said please!  That is so sweet!”  Vinny awkwardly pulled off her pj top without taking off the blindfold but somehow managed to keep her breasts covered.  When she was laying down again, Thea dropped on a thread to the floor, then crept carefully toward her.

 

“Is this for real?” he whispered.

 

“Do you need to stop?”

 

“No!” he blurted out quickly.

 

Vinny chuckled, “Well, I do appreciate your enthusiasm.”

 

“Can I run my fingers down your spine?”

 

“If you like, just don’t tickle me, ok?”

 

Thea nodded, then remembered to say, “OK.” 

 

A single finger traced it’s way down her spine, right to the waistband of he pj pants.  It stopped there for a moment, then followed the edge of her pants to her side. He used the back of is hand to trace up her ribs, the switched to his palm as he moved back to the center of he back, then up to rub her shoulder.

 

Vinny sighed.  “That is really nice, Thea.  Are you sure I can’t return the favour?”

 

His hand was immediately gone.

 

“Thea?”

 

“Do you know how driders reproduce?” he whispered

 

“Um…I may have read a little,” Vinny admitted. “I know The female takes the male’s genetic material into her body.  She can store it for years and choose which male she wants to fertilize her eggs. But at some point, she needs to injects them into someone for incubation.  These days PETA is freaking out about some places using cows for that. But still, better than people, right?”

 

Thea was very quiet when he explained, “When a male drider approaches a female, there is no way to know if she wants his seeds or his body to incubate for her.  If he’s an incubator, he might live another few months until they hatch and eat him from the inside out. Or, if she hits a vital organ with her ovipositor, he could bleed out at once.  Male driders aren’t very good at being touched.”

 

Vinny nodded, not knowing what to say to that.

 

Thea continued, “Most of us live on reservations.  We don’t fit in cities. There aren’t many buildings with high enough ceilings and wide enough doors.”

 

“That’s why you work in construction, right?   Build better buildings?” He still wasn’t touching her, so she pulled off the blindfold.  He was standing a few feet away.

 

“Not very many women to talk to,” he admitted nervously.

 

“We aren’t all out to lay eggs in your abdomen,”  Vinny teased.

 

Thea took a step back, dancing awkwardly on his eight legs.  “It’s not just that. Too much time with females can trigger our reproductive cycle.  I can be completely disinterested fifty weeks out of the year if there aren’t a bunch of women around.

 

“The other two,” he continued, “I end up dumping reproductive material all over.”

 

He was backing up the wall now, that was quite the thing to see.

 

Vinny nodded again.  That she knew about.  There had been a shit storm in the news a couple of years ago.  A school playground had been covered one night in ping pong balls of goo that were about the firmness of soft silicone.  They were a little bigger than those bouncy ball toys you get for a quarter out of a gumball machine. It turned out, after a bunch of kids were playing with them, that it was the drider equivalent of sperm.

 

That had sparked a huge outcry. Where upon public health had to issue a number of statements that while this was certainly not the appropriate means of disposal, the protein balls were not actually harmful in any way.  They had also pointed out that any male drider only produces about one or two cups full at a time, so this had to have been someone who had collected from hundreds of males to dump them on the playground.

 

They never found who did it, but bouncy balls were now banned from every school in the city.

 

“That’s why you don’t like touching me,” Vinny understood.  “I am so sorry, Thea. You know you don’t have to, right?”

 

“I want to,” it was the softest whisper, she could barely hear it.

 

“That’s ok, too,” she assured him, just as softly.

 

His eyes went wide and he shook his head, no.

 

“Why not?  What can I-”

 

“I want to wrap you in silk until you are a Vinny burrito and hold you with all of my arms!” he blurted out, clearly ready to run for the door.

 

That wasn’t something Vinny had thought of.  It felt a bit like volunteering to be prey. She knew the driders didn’t go for anything bigger than 50 lbs, but still.  She would want a way out and she wasn’t sure that if she said no, that Thea wouldn’t just panic and run for it. Which would leave her tied up until someone found her.

 

“Would you want to have a chaperone in the room?” she asked, like it was for his comfort rather than hers.   
  


“Kevin!” Thea replied instantly.

 

Vinny groaned, Kevin would have been her last choice.  Absolute last choice. As in, she would rather invite her mother to watch.  She didn’t say that, instead she asked, “Why him?”

 

“He has carried women inside him before.  He knows about making sure you have enough air and what to do if you get claustrophobic.”

 

That was new.  “If I get claustrophobic, you can just untie me.”

 

“Not if I’m asleep.”

 

Vinny chewed her lip.  Thea just nodded and left without saying a word.

 

Vinny lay on her bed to think about that.  Eventually, she got up to put Derick’s sleep mask back.  Tristan was just getting home.

 

“That was a quick night out,” she observed.

 

“Not as much fun without you,” he teased.  

 

Kogan nodded in agreement as he eased past them, giving Vinny’s ass a pat on his way.  “I make a lousy second choice.”

 

“He does,” Tristan agreed.  “Spent the whole time complaining that they weren’t airing the curling championships.  I’m still not sure if he was serious.”

 

Vinny realized that Tristan might have some answers, but, “Is it ok if I ask you, um, professional questions?”

 

He snorted, “Unlike amature questions? Sure!  You could do with some house plants in your room.”

 

She ducked her head and felt hugely uncomfortable.

 

“You mean questions about what I did before I retired,” he said flatly. 

 

Vinny nodded, “I mean, not you personally.  Just … questions about…”

 

“Sex?”

 

“Sort of?”

 

“Wanna go to my room and discuss it?” Tristan started to pulled off his boots, Vinny stopped him.

 

“Let me grab my coat.”

 

Tristan frowned, “Ok.”

 

They ended up sitting in the garage in his truck.  Vinny was in his lap and Tristan was cupping her ass with one shovel sized hand.

 

“Thea asked to tie me up,” she whispered, almost like she was afraid the drider would hear her all the way out to the edge of the property.

 

Tristan stiffened in more ways than one, “And what do you think of that?”

 

Vinny had to think about that.  “I don’t know. Kevin’s name came up, so …  I don’t think Thea would try to prank me, but-”

 

“He isn’t,” Tristan said firmly.  “Have you ever seen the way people swaddle a baby?  Arms and legs all tucked in? That’s what he’s aiming for.  Hell, he’s done it with Derick, Dren and Kevin. The rest of us are too big.  Then he lies on his back and holds you against his spider parts with his legs.  It’s really creepy if you are afraid of spiders and really sweet if you aren’t. Honestly, I think he should try it with a kitten.  Get the critter used to it. He’s incredibly gentle.”

 

“I don’t get it,” Vinny admitted.  “One minute he wants to touch my back and the next he wants to tie me up so he can’t?”

 

Tristan sighed and scratched around the base of his horns.  Then he got distracted when Vinny took over. “You should talk to him,” Tristan gasped.

 

“I tried.  He doesn’t like talking to me.  He just likes watching me sleep.”

 

Tristan lifted Vinny off his lap and set her in the passenger seat.  He looked at her for a while. “He’s trying to figure you out. In the spring we all go on a liquid diet and Thea stuffs all our asses with drider spunk.  It keeps him from going too squirrelly. But he doesn’t want us grabbing him, so he’s happiest if he can tie our wrists to our ankles first.”

 

Vinny stared at him.  “How in hell did Thea ever negotiate that?”

 

“Well, it started with just Dren, as a blob.  But then he was so full of eggs he was basically comatose-”

 

“Wait!  Eggs? Or drider spawn?”

 

“Same thing?”

 

“No.  Fertilized drider eggs are bigger than ostrich eggs.  Drider spawn is only an inch or so across.”

 

Tristan winced, “The smaller ones.  Look, no one is going to make you do anything you don’t want to.  And you’re right. Thea isn’t going to ask.”

 

“Except he asked to tie me up.”

 

Tristan looked at the ceiling of the truck cab.  “Maybe. But I bet he would be over the moon to just hold your hand.”

 

Vinny considered this and nodded.

 

Now Tristan looked at her.  “We could probably arrange that tonight if you are interested.”

 

“I don’t know.  Sitting in your lap just now got me interested in something.”

 

Tristan leaned in to nuzzle her neck.  “I think I can help with that.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Show me the love!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> non cannon - to be deleted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch for the cliff

Derick came home from work to find the house abandoned.  Almost. Dren was still asleep in his bathtub, but all the other rooms were empty. It wasn’t totally unheard of for the guys to go out on Friday night.  It was however very unusual for Kogan to stay out this late. And they never took Kevin. 

 

Derick continued up the stairs to Vinny’s room, when he pushed the door open, he felt like his heart might burst.

 

Everyone was in Vinny’s room.  Even Bazur. Her bed had been stood up against one of the walls.  Her mattress was on the floor. Bazur’s had been dragged in and placed next to it.  The gargoyle was in the corner. Kevin was a piece of wall art. Thea was asleep in a nest near the ceiling.

 

It wasn’t quite the pack orgy he was hoping for, but they were getting closer.

 

God damn it.  He just wanted a family.  It was a stupid werewolf hang up.  He hated how much he wanted this. But he did.  And he couldn’t ignore it, not when it was so close.  Kogan, Tristan and Vinny were in a tangle on the bed, there was still room for him.

 

He strippd down to his shorts and crawled into bed.  The blanket was weird. It took him a moment to realize it was silk.  Thea had made it. As he lay down he looked up at the nest on the ceiling.  Thea was peeking out. Derick gave him an encouraging grin. Thea smiled back, blushing red and showing dimples as he did so.

 

\----

 

Vinny woke up to the sound of thunder and the smell of coffee.  The coffee she had been dreaming about but the thunder rattled the windows hard enough to jerk her awake.  She sat up and looked around. Bazur was gone, everyone else was just waking up. Kevin was currently an old fashioned wooden school desk.  Dren was sitting on him, drinking a coffee.

 

There was a travel mug sitting on Kevin next to Dren’s.  “That one is for you, Vinny. I managed to make a half pot before the power went out.”

 

“Thanks, Dren!”  She winced as her feet hit the cold floor.

 

Dren nodded.  “The place will warm up a bit once the boys get the fireplaces lit, but you will want a pair of socks.”

 

Vinny couldn’t see Kevin’s mouth, but his muffled voice added, “Neither me or Dren are any good at starting the fires.”

 

Kogan groaned and stood up then swore all the way out of Vinny’s room and down the stairs.  Tristan picked up the silk bundle Thea had made them to sleep in and wrapped it around her shoulders, which made Derick curse, then change form to something more hairy.

 

Vinny looked out of the window and groaned.  “I don’t want to go out in that.”

 

“So don’t,” Tristan replied.

 

“I have to,” Vinny explained.  “I shop for groceries every day.”

 

Thea crossed the ceiling and left her room.  A moment later Bazur knocked on her door. “If you give me a list, I’ll go get whatever you need.  The rain doesn’t bother me. But we should probably get on that before there is a run on the grocery stores.”

 

The grocery list was a shared internet doc, but Vinny pulled it up and started adding things as she sipped her coffee.    Kevin shifted into a bench and she turned around to sit. “I should plan for a few days, in case it stays like this. But we just don’t have enough fridge space based on how you all eat.”

 

Kogan was back, “We should close all the doors and hunker down in the TV room.  It will be a lot easier to just heat one room than the whole house.”

 

Vinny looked up, “Does this happen often?”

 

They all shrugged.  “It’s an old house,” Bazur replied.  “We have work arounds.”

 

Vinny was trying to think of things she could feed them with no power.  The gas stove would still work, she would just need to light it with a match.  The oven wouldn’t. That suggested soup or stew, but she usually served that with bread.   She added bread to the list. She had a couple of recipes for soup that used all non-perishable ingredients.  She shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

 

“I think that’s it.   Thank you, Bazur for going out for me.”

 

“You are very welcome.  I was thinking I should get another fridge for you, but it wouldn’t help today anyway.”

 

Vinny shook her head, “If this is a predictable thing, I may ask for some shelves in the basement to hold canned goods.”

 

Kogan nodded.  “There is a wood stove in the basement that keeps the main floor warm if the power goes out in the winter.  We can turn off the water to the top two floors so the pipes don’t freeze, but it has been years since we’ve needed to do that.”

 

Vinny nodded.  “OK. Everyone out.  I am digging out my fleece jammies and I’ll be down to see what we can figure out for breakfast in a while.”  She took another sip of coffee, then added a french press to the shopping list.

 

\----

 

Vinny was downstairs on the couch in front of the fireplace when Bazur came home.  The water was just streaming off of his t-shirt and pants. “Christ! Didn’t you take a coat?” Vinny demanded, looking for a towel or a blanket.

 

Bazur laughed and stripped.  “Water doesn’t bother me. Or the cold.  If it’s January and too cold for you to go shopping, you can send me out then too.”

 

Vinny looked at him.  He was perfectly sculpted muscles, but that was the point wasn’t it?  There were all kind of theories about where gargoyles came from. Everything from magic to silica based parallel evolution.

 

The gargoyles didn’t comment themselves.  They didn’t seem to reproduce, but that was fine because they didn’t seem to age either.  Vinny was watching Bazur bend over to try to wiggle out of his pants. She knew he ate, so he must -

 

“Enjoying the view?” he teased.

 

Vinny blushed.  “Your skin is all speckled and it looks rough like cement, but I can’t tell it that is an optical illusion or not.”

 

Bazur offered her his hand, it was smooth like marble.  Not the high gloss polished finish, but definitely honed.  It was also really cold. Vinny let go and stept back.

 

Bazur snorted, “Yeah.  I’m much more popular when it is summer and everyone is too hot.”

 

If he was going to add anything to that, it was interrupted by Tristan and Kogan coming out to get the grocery bags.  As the guys were carrying everything into the kitchen, Bazur nodded to his study. Vinny followed him in. 

 

“How are you settling in?  It seems like everything is going well, but I’m not always the best judge of how squishy people work.”

 

“Squishy?”

 

“Sorry, that was rude.  How are you Vinny?”

 

“I good.  School is good,” Vinny replied.  Then she realized he was likely doing a performance review.  “The workload here is about what I can handle. I’ve been picking one of the common rooms each week to spend a little more-”

 

“I’m not worried about that.  The guys are all very fond of you.  I just want to make sure you aren’t being pressured into anything,”  he assured her.

 

“Well, this is awkward,” she mumbled.

 

“Are you alright?” he sounded so genuinely concerned it made her smile.

 

“Yeah, I’m good.  It took a while and I’m still figuring it out, but I like being here.”

 

“I know you were having … personality conflicts with Kevin-” Bazur trailed off, not sure what to say next.

 

Vinny shrugged, “We seem to have some sort of truce going on.”

 

Bazur nodded slowly, “He still struggles with the amount of power you have over him.  I can see your kindness that you have not just given up on him.”

 

Vinny opened her mouth to say something about how fucked up her life would be if she didn’t have this job, then closed it without a word.

 

“Are you all right?” he asked.

 

Vinny nodded.  “I should go organize something for lunch.”

 

Bazur cocked his head to the side, “How uncomfortable will you be if we all end up sleeping in the parlour tonight?”

 

“As long as I make it to church tomorrow, tonight won’t be a problem.  I’m not sure what two nights in a row will be like when I have class the next day.”

 

“Alright.  Thank you for speaking with me.”

 

Vinny recognized the dismissal and fled.

 

She found Thea in the kitchen.  “Oh! Hey! Um… Lunch will be ready soon, I just need to see what I’m working with.”

 

Thea nodded then tipped his head towards a big bowl of salad on the counter.  “I figured we should use up the vegetables out of the fridge first. There is a half pack of bacon you could cook up to add in.  Maybe some hard boiled eggs. If you can get the stove running.”

 

That bit was easy, it just took a barbecue lighter and a moment of bravery.  While the water was boiling, Vinny used her phone to look for a way to bake bread on the stove.  Then she turned it off to save battery. Thea was still watching her. It was getting a little creepy.

 

“What can I do for you?”

 

“Do you remember that night at dinner where you said you would be OK with us asking for help?”

 

It took her a moment.  Shit. “Yes?”

 

“Is that just for sex?” he asked.  Then he hastened to add, “Or does it work for naked cuddles?”

 

Vinny kept her eyes front,  “I’m not objecting, but I am curious how that would work if I can’t touch you.”

 

“I could hold your hands.  We could have a chaperone.”

 

Fuck.  He had already asked about that.  He wanted Kevin. Maybe she could ask for someone else.  But that would mean a whole extra person in the room. “How about Bazur?  He’s ace and doesn’t have a problem with nudity.”

 

Thea nodded. “I can go ask him, if that’s OK.”

 

Was it ok?  “This is just cuddles, right?  Not sex?”

 

“Just cuddles,” Thea assured her.

 

Vinny considered this.  “Ask Bazur and we can talk about it more after lunch.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thea nod before he ran off.

 

\----

 

They ended up in Bazur’s room.  He was working at his desk and ignoring them.  Vinny was stripped down to her bra and panties with her hands bound  and her body suspended over Bazur’s bed in a tangle of Thea’s webbing.  She was only about three feet above it, so that if she needed to drop, it wasn’t far.

 

Thea had been very clear that it was for if she panicked.  He was not going to drop her by accident.

 

The sensations were surreal.  It was like floating. Her head and back were supported.  She was face up to the ceiling, but her eyelids were covered by Thea’s softest silk.  She had a bit of play to move her arms and legs, but not much. They were being held in a four point harness.  She could move any limb, but when she did, she could feel it pulling on the other three. 

 

The sounds of the storm outside was almost like those relaxation sounds apps, even if the slight draft was making her nipples crinkle.

 

Thea’s hands were very gently caressing her.  He was touching her all over but there wasn’t a pattern that she could tell.  The small of her back one moment, her shoulder the next. Just now he was stroking the inside of her thigh.  The whole thing was way more errotic than she had expected.

 

“Your panties are wet,” he observed quietly.

 

“I’m enjoying this more than I thought I would,” Vinny replied trying to keep her voice as light as his had been.

 

“Can I touch them?  Your panties?”

 

Vinny wasn’t sure about that.  “You said this isn’t a sex thing.”

 

“It isn’t!” he insisted.

 

“It’s starting to feel like it is, Thea.”

 

Bazur snorted.  “It isn’t for him.  Derick is still sleeping before work, but I bet he wouldn’t mind being woken up to help.  Mind you, Kogan will be disappointed that he missed this.”

 

Thea hummed in agreement.  “Kogan likes being in control.”

 

Vinny tried to move her arms to cover her face, but all that happened was the ties on her ankles tightened and she swug in back and forth for a moment.  “I don’t want anyone else here to watch,” she whispered.

 

“I can let you down now, if you need me to,” Thea whispered back at her.

 

Except she didn’t want that either.

 

Bazur was suddenly close enough to her ear to make her jump.  “I can always lend a hand, if you need.”

 

Vinny considered that, then nodded.

 

Someone traced a careful finger over her panties making her twitch.  That had to be Thea. He traced the elastic on then gently stroked in what felt like a random pattern until Vinny realized he was probably tracing the paisley print.  When he got to the part where the fabric was double he pressed and got a faintly audible squish.

 

Bazur’s voice was still right by her ear, “I bet Dren would be over the moon if we invited him into taste you now.”

 

Vinny turned her head towards his voice.  “I can’t see if you are teasing me.”

 

“I assure you I am not.”

 

Vinny thought about that as Thea was touching her in a haphazard way.  She though about what it would be like being here with someone running her vibrator and moaned.

 

Thea’s hands were gone.  “I’m sorry.” She heard his feet skitter away.  “I can cut you down now.”

 

“Just-”  fuck. “Argh!  I - I don’t know who to get.”

 

“Dren,” Bazur said firmly.  “He doesn’t like being touched either, but he likes warm and wet and right now you are both.”  

 

Vinny considered this, then nodded.

 

She heard the door open.

 

And close.

 

Then there was what felt like a really long time before it opened again.  “Vinny?!” Dren sounded shocked. Someone closed the door.

 

“Thea wants to keep touching her,” Bazur explained.  “Vinny is finding it distracting.”

 

The was the faint sound of a drop of water hitting the bed.  Vinny blushed as she realized it wasn’t water. It was her.

 

“Help a girl out?” she said trying to be as off hand as she could.

 

Dren’s impossibly silky smooth hands slid her panties down to her ankles.  She felt his hands on her upper thighs, then felt them melt and slide so they were covering much more of her skin.

 

“Can I touch you?” Dren asked.

 

Vinny chewed her lip and nodded.

 

“Can I help you cum?”

 

“Uh, yeah!  I mean, yes please.”

 

Dren chuckled, “You said please!  I can see why Kogan loves you.” Before she could figure out what to say to that he added, “I would like to pour into you.  But you need to let me know when it is too much. I could accidently stretch you too far without knowing.”

 

Vinny nodded again.

 

“Do you need anything for your clit?” Bazur asked. 

 

“What?” Vinny asked, startled.

 

“I can make you feel warm and full,” Dren explained.  “I can even pulse a little, but I can’t actually provide any friction.”

 

“I won’t be at a good angle to help,” Bazur added.

 

“I could,” Thea whispered, “If Bazur shows me how.”

 

Vinny just felt completely overwhelmed at that.  “I… yeah. I trust you.”

 

At that point Bazur took over.  The warmness of Dren moved aside, Bazur’s cool fingers made her twitch before teased her open and found her clit.  “Rub here,” he instructed, “but gently.”

 

His hands moved away before Thea’s thin and nimble fingers replaced them.  As Thea gently stroked, Vinny could feel Dren rubbing her back. “It’s ok, we will be very careful,” said Dren’s quiet voice.

 

Vinny tried to relax.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are so SO appreciated! I haven't had any actual comments on Tumblr in months and I am seriously considering just stopping publishing there. You guys are the best for comments and I love it. I go back and read them in my moments of insecurity.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> non cannon - to be deleted

Vinny tried to relax.

 

It wasn’t easy.  Thea’s fingers were stoking her clit, slowly and carefully like a gentle kid petting a hamster.  Dren’s hands were kneading her ass and her thighs.

 

She tried to twitch her legs open but the strings connecting her wrists to her ankles made her sway in the drider silk ropes dangling her from the ceiling.

 

Bazur asked softly, “Still ok, Vinny?”

 

“Yeah.”  She gave a breathy sigh then added, “This is really nice.”

 

“I’m going slow, but you have to tell me when it gets to be too much,” Dren reminded her. 

 

Vinny twitched, “OK.”  

 

She could feel a silky soft tendril of Dren sliding over her lower lips and then into her.  He was moving into her so slowly she could barely tell. She could feel his warmth on the insides on her thighs, holding open her lips and a slight warmness inside.  Then suddenly she was full. She moaned softly.

 

“Need me to stop?” Dren asked.  “You have more room, but I can stop if you need.”

 

Vinny blinked inside the blindfold.   “How can I have more room?”

 

“All I did was open you.  You are creamy and delicious and I am so pleased you let me taste you.  But this isn’t a stretch yet. I can if you want,” Dren explained. Then he added, “Whether I do or not, I am honoured just to be here.”

 

Vinny let her head flop back.  She just lay there for a moment.  She could feel Dren pulsing. It wasn’t a pumping, it was more like a slow pulse between softer and firmer.

 

Thea was still being too gentle.

 

This groan was one of frustration.  “I don’t know what to ask for! Thea, can you rub a little harder?”

 

Thea did and at the same time Dren changed his pulsing.  Now it was pressure, relax a little, then more pressure stretching further.  Vinny started squirming in her bonds. Dren chuckled and he vibrated as he did.  That was all it took, Vinny shook and arched and gushed. Dren was there to absorb it all.  Thea didn’t even break his rhythm. Vinny was sobbing a moment later when she came again.

 

“I think that is a stop,” Bazur said gently.  Thea’s hand moved away from her and Dren went still.  “Put her on the bed now please.” Vinny felt herself being slowly lowered to the bed.  The webbing was pulled away. Bazur’s cold, firm hands began rubbing her arm. “Thea - go get some juice, please,” he directed.

 

Vinny wasn’t sure what Dren was doing, but she awkwardly pulled the blindfold off.  The was a bulge in her abdomen like she had eaten too much and she was wearing Dren like a purple gelatinous catsuit.  He covered her breasts both under and over her bra, her belly and her thighs. The was a little gap over her clit where Thea had been rubbing.

 

Vinny reached down and stroked her hand gently over Dren where he covered he slightly swollen belly.  He trembled and Vinny nearly came again.

 

Bazur stroked her hair.  “When Thea gets back, you need to drink some juice then have a rest before supper.  Are you still ok?”

 

Vinny nodded, “That was awesome.  10/10. Would do again.”

 

\----

 

Supper was stew and stove top bread.

 

After supper was a candlelit game of Cards Against Humanity.  Kevin was as raunchy as she expected. Kogan kept asking Tristan what different cards meant.  Dren was blushing magenta. Derick was even home watching them all with a soft smile on his face.

 

Thea was curled up on the ceiling watching everyone’s cards upside down.

 

Vinny adjusted her T-shirt a little to give him a better view.

 

Bazur had the best poker face in the group.

 

She was having fun.

 

At ten o’clock the land line rang.  Bazur answered and had a quiet conversation with whoever was on the phone.

 

As soon as he assured the person that Vinny was already in bed so that she could go to church in the morning, Vinny rolled her eyes.  It had to be her mother. Bazur exchanged small talk for a while, said good night and hung up. He came back into the room in silence and sat back down on his chair.

 

“Val is quite insistent that you stay home tomorrow.  She says Kogan is a nice man, but she doesn’t want you on a motorcycle in this weather.  Especially since the street lights are out.”

 

Kogan nodded, “That is a fair point.”

 

Tristan snorted, “I’ll take you in my truck, if you want.”

 

“I’ll take you in your bed, if you want,” Kevin muttered.

 

Vinny hesitated at that, then she chose to ignore it.  “Well, it’s been fun, gentlemen, but I should really go turn on my fireplace and -”

 

“Please sleep down here tonight,” Bazur interrupted.

 

Vinny blushed, “We barely all fit in this room on the chairs.  There isn’t enough space for us all to actually sleep.”

 

“You can sleep in my bed, if you want,” Derick offered.  “It’s on the main floor, it will be warmer here than it is in your room.”  Vinny was about to agree when he added, “And if we push the futon against the wall, the rest of us can all puppy pile on the floor.”

 

“I don’t want to kick you out of your bed,” Vinny protested.

 

“Kevin has the most open floor space,” Thea pointed out.  “If we moved Tristan and Kogan’s mattresses in there, there would be enough space for Vinny, Kogan, Derick and Tristan to get the beds.  I would take the ceiling and maybe Kevin could hold Dren. Bazur doesn’t really sleep, but we would all be in one room.”

 

Vinny blinked, “I don’t think we get to just take over Kevin’s room.”

 

“Yes you can,” Kevin said firmly.  “Last night was nice and it works better for us all to be there then having anyone feeling left out.”

 

That was a little uncomfortable coming from the only guy in the room who hadn’t seen her cum.  Oh god. What was she doing? Her mother just -

 

“Vinny?” Derick asked softly.  “Are you OK?”

 

Was she OK?  “I don’t know.  I don’t know what I’m doing. I just-”

 

Derick nodded, “It’s OK.”  He scooped her up and cuddled her to his chest.  “You can sleep in my room. The rest of us will just stay out here.  You will be fine. I won’t be sleeping anyway. I’m used to being at work right now and …  well, I’m not great at thunder storms.”

 

Vinny hugged him back. “I’m going to go brush my teeth and get ready for bed.”

 

Bazur was right, the top floor was already pretty cold.  The grand central staircase was acting like a chimney sucking the heat up and out of the house.  But the ground floor was full of pocket doors that could be opened and closed to keep the warm air from escaping.  The dining room was closed off. All the doors were closed so that the servants access between the kitchen and the parlour was completely separate from the rest of the house.  Those rooms were surprising warm compared to everything else.

 

Vinny remembered how nice it had been falling asleep safe and warm between Kogan and Tristan last night.  

 

It felt like family.

 

But her mom calling had been like being hit by a bucket of cold water.   And now she was in her bathroom brushing her teeth and washing her face in literal cold water.

 

She was embarrassed by what had happened this afternoon. Not just that she had done it but also how much she had enjoyed it, how much she had wanted it.  And she just kept thinking how it would have been even better if Derick had been there for cuddles afterwards.

 

She didn’t get to ask that though, did she?  It was one thing when Derick had encouraged her with Kogan and Tristan, but they had never discussed if Dren, Thea and Bazur were supposed to be completely off the table.  How had she ended up as part of an orgy?

 

It had been good though.  She would have been hurt when Thea just ran off except that Dren and Bazur had stayed to take care of her.  Dren had been especially good at thanking and praising her. Vinny was already having to come to terms with how much she enjoyed that in her relationship with Kogan.

 

What did it say about her that she wanted Kogan to fuck her almost raw while telling her how good she was then have Derick kiss her better with that long tongue of his?

 

Shit.

 

She felt like she needed to try to sneak away to spend time alone with any of them, so the others wouldn’t notice.  Which was stupid. The others wouldn’t care.

 

There was a knock on her door.  Vinny jumped and spun around to find Thea watching her.

 

“Did I make you afraid?  Um… this afternoon?”

 

Vinny blinked, “No.  This is still all just new to me.”

 

Thea nodded, not looking at her and asked,  “Do you think I could try again sometimes?” Vinny shivered in anticipation at the very mention of next time.  Then he peeked at her and added, “Dren was so excited about how good you taste. Maybe I could try some time.”

 

Vinny stared at him in shock.

 

“Or not,” he mumbled and left.

 

Except now the idea of next time was in her head and she really wanted next time.

  
  



	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! Attempted poisoning / drugging someone's drink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> non cannon - to be deleted

Vinny had snuck down from her bathroom and into Derick’s room hoping to avoid the others.  She had come to care for all of them, in there own way, but Derick was still her favourite.  They still went running most mornings. He was like her own personal cheering section. He cared about the fine details of school and would remember which lab partner was useless and which ones she liked working with.

 

Kogan was good like that with major assignments.  Gently encouraging her to focus when she would slack off, or when a study break started to go long.    He was also good at finding her little rewards when she did well.

 

Tristan was the guy to hang out with when she needed to just escape from her life for a while.

 

Her relationship with the others had been strictly professional.  Until now. Now she couldn’t quite figure out what to do.

 

Right now, she was snuggled up to Derick who was gently tracing patterns on her back.  However lost in thought she was, he was paying attention. “What’s wrong, Vinny?”

 

She jumped slightly, then started to stall, then just blurted out, “I had a threesome…. Or maybe a foursome with Thea, Dren and sort of Bazur.  I wasn’t planning on that. I thought Thea was just going to give me a back rub.” She felt Derick tense under her. “Not… I mean, I wanted it. I asked.  I could have said no. I just… I don’t know what to do now.”

 

Derick nodded, “First, I want to say thank you for being nice to Thea.  He really needed that. As for what to do now, well, now you just act normal.  You haven’t done anything wrong. If you want to spend time with them, that’s fine.  If you don’t that’s fine too.”

 

Vinny just shook her head, “What kind of woman fucks six guys in two weeks?”

 

Now Derick sat up, “A well adjusted one who knows what she wants.  Is shame really what you want here? Or are you just worried about what your mom would think?”

 

“My sex life is none of my mother’s business!” Vinny replied firmly.

 

“OK,” Derick agreed.  “So tell me what is bothering you.”

 

“I don’t know,” she finally said.  “This isn’t… normal.”

 

Derick sighed.  “I’m sorry, I really am.  But no one here is normal.  That doesn’t mean that we don’t all care about you.”

 

“I know,” Vinny muttered.  “I guess I just need time to get used to the idea.”

 

“That’s fair.  But I need to know something.  Is the reason we are in here instead out there with the rest of the family because you are ashamed?”

 

Vinny nodded.

 

Derick was really quiet before he asked, “Are you ashamed of us?”

 

“No!”  she didn’t even hesitate.  “I’m just… Look, it isn’t… typical for a woman to have… what?  A harem?? Six lovers. If I just suddenly start talking about you, all of you, there are going to be negative repercussions for all of us.”

 

Derick shrugged, “So just don’t talk about it.  How is it anyone’s business but yours?”

 

“It isn’t.  Just…” she stopped talking to think.  “I don’t know. A lot to take in.”

 

Derick nodded and lay back down, pulling her close so he could go back to drawing patterns on her back.  “That I understand. It will be ok. If you want to stop, that’s OK. If you want to just play it by ear, that’s ok.  And whether you tell anyone or not, we will support you whatever happens.”

 

Vinny nodded.

 

“And I’ll talk to the boys to make sure we are discrete around Kevin.  Given the whole jello incident, I can see why you would want to exclude him, but we will try to at least be tactful about it.”

 

She didn’t know what to think about that.  She wasn’t trying to exclude Kevin anymore than she was trying to have… whatever that afternoon was.  The opportunity arose and she just went for it. Yeah, she had felt embarrassed and betrayed by the jello thing, but that was months ago.  She wasn’t holding a grudge because it had really been the point where Kevin had started being a decent person around her.

 

The problem was, even if she hadn’t looked up minotaur porn, and had looked up drider porn.  Mimic porn was the sort you accidentally stumbled on when out on the web. It was right up there with the gang bang you didn’t want to see.

 

It was generally included with the fucking machine videos.  After all, society didn’t consider Mimics to be people. It was straight line from person using a vibe to person tied down and a vibe being used on them to a person tied to a mimic.

 

Vinny squirmed a little, because now that picture was in her head too.

 

\-----

 

Vinny was celibate all through midterms.  There just wasn’t time. She just made do with two minute quickies with her vibe in the shower.

 

But they were finally over.  The exams were written, the reports handed in.  Right on time for the halloween parties to start.  Vinny and Jenn were on a pub crawl. By random luck Derick’s was the last bar of the night, so the plan was to shut the place down and have him give them a lift home.  Vinny had planned ahead and was going as little red riding hood. Jenn was Wonder Woman.

 

They never made it.  They were at The Fish trying to be good and drink some soda and eat a plate of nachos to balance out all the booze, when some jocks came over with drinks for them.  They were flirty and the one somehow managed to flex as he stole their nachos.

 

Vinny was still sipping her iced tea, but Jenn was finished her coke.  When she reached for the pink and fruity drink they guys had brought her, an orc hand darted out first and caught it.

 

“What the hell man?” the jock demanded.

 

The bouncer  and another orc were right behind the guy now holding Jenn’s drink.  “They put something in this between the bar and the table. And maybe it’s nothing, but I would like to see one of them drink it.”

 

Three of the guys just looked confused.  The last looked cagey.

 

That was the one the Bouncer grabbed a hold of and dragged away.  The guy holding Jenn’s drink picked up Vinny’s as well. The last orc lead Vinny and Jenn to the manager’s office.  “I don’t think you will need to give a statement, since you didn’t see the pill go into the drink and you didn’t drink the drink.  But you can wait here if you want.”

 

Vinny looked at Jenn who was shaking.  “Yeah,” she said, “Thanks.”

 

“No problem!  Me and Joe are part of Kogan’s tribe.”  He pulled off his hoodie to show off a familiar looking tattoo.  “He asked us all to keep an eye on you. I spotted you as soon as you came in!” he said proudly.

 

“Uh.. thanks?” Vinny honestly wasn’t sure what to say about that.  Jenn wasn’t saying anything. 

 

The orc looked at his hoodie, then at Jenn. “Miss?  Did you want to wrap up in this? I’m a bit worried about you going into shock.”

 

“Thank you,” the hoodie fit Jenn like she was wearing a tent.  Vinny was well aware of that look.

 

The cops were very discrete.  The female officer who talked to Vinny and Jenn was very polite.  And very concerned about them having a safe ride home. That was when they realized they had missed the pub crawl bus.

 

Jayce, who had shared his sweater with Jenn had a suggestion.  “Vinny? Call Kogan and check me out!” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed her his driver’s licence.  “I can take you to the next pub, if you want.”

 

“Do you know this man?” the officer asked.  

 

Vinny shook her head, “No, but he says he’s part of the same tribe as one of the guys I live with.”

 

“Vinny is a live in housekeeper,” Jenn hurried to explain.

 

Vinny blinked.  The orc’s face froze. The officer nodded, “Calling to check out this guy before you go off with a stranger is a good idea.  Getting a cab is a better one.”

 

They both nodded.  Vinny doubted they could get a cab in this neighbourhood at this time of night.  They would all be hanging out near the upscale bars downtown. By the time they were free to go, it was really too late and they were too sober to try to track down the bus.  Vinny texted Derick to tell him they were just going home.

 

Then she called Kogan.  He was running security at an event that night.

 

He picked up the first ring, “What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m fine!  But… some guy tried to slip Jenn and I a date rape drug and some orcs stopped him, then we had to wait for the cops and now we just wanna go home.  But it’s 1:30 in the morning and we are at The Fish.”

 

“Jesus.  Um… I’ll just…  I need a minute to figure out who can come and get you.” Kogan replied.

 

“It’s just that… look the guys who stopped him say they are part of your tribe and they can give us a ride home, but-”

 

“Pass the phone over to them, please.” 

 

Vinny did.  There was a long conversation in orcish.  About half way through Jayce straightened up and was suddenly a lot closer to the ceiling than he had been when he slouched.

 

He handed the phone back to Vinny.  “Yeah, you can go with him. Have him drop off Jenn first, then he can wait for me at the house, OK?”

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

Somehow, Jayce and Jenn ended up flirting in the front of the car while Vinny was riding in the back.  When they got to Jenn’s dorm, she went to give Jayce his sweater back.

 

“Keep it.  You can call me next week and let me know how you are doing.  I’ll pick it up then.”

 

Vinny rolled her eyes.  Jenn just giggled. She leaned across the car and gave Jayce a peck on the cheek before running inside.  Vinny climbed into the front. Jayce was grinning like an idiot.

 

He looked at her, “Think she likes me?”

 

Vinny rolled her eyes.  “I’ll let you know,” she said sarcastically.

 

“Really?  That would be great!  Thanks Vinny!”

 

Jayce drove her home in silence for a long moment.  Then he said, “She didn’t know Kogan is your mate.”

 

Vinny shifted uncomfortably.  She started to talk a couple of times and stopped.  What she finally said was, “My mom is strictly Catholic.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You have my sympathies.”

 

He said it so sincerely, like he was consoling her on the loss of a loved one.  

 

Vinny burst out laughing.  “I’m sorry! That probably wouldn’t be that funny if it wasn’t almost 2 am.”

 

Jayce grinned, “that’s why Kogan wants me to stay with you.  And trust me, how ever hard you find it to explain your relationship to your mother, Kogan had the same problems taking his relationship with you to the tribe.  It’s probably just that he has more -” Jayce broke off for a moment, then continued, “experience than you do.”

 

“OK, now tell me what you were going to say.”

 

Jayce shrugged as he parked his car in front of the house.  “Humans don’t have a word for it, as far as I know. Kogan’s title in the tribe means war hero, grandfather, respected elder, boss, life coach and counselor all at the same time.”

 

“That’s a lot to put into one word,” Vinny agreed as she unlocked the door.  The porch light was on. The front entry light was on, but she remembered too late that everyone would be out except for Kevin.

 

Damn it.  She climbed out of her shoes and hung up her coat.  She just wanted a shower and to go to bed. She wasn’t even planning on waiting for her hair to dry.  But she was not comfortable doing that while there was a stranger in the lobby.

 

“Well, thanks for seeing me home.  I don’t want to take any more of your time,” she hinted.

 

“Oh, it’s no trouble.  Kogan wanted me to stay with you until he gets home in case anything happens from any of your other drinks.”  Jayce thought for a moment. “I should get you some water and something to eat. Which way is the kitchen?”

 

Vinny was going to protest that he didn’t have to, but she remembered Kogan’s protective streak and just pointed.  She staggered into the lounge. Kevin was currently a chaise. He tottered over on short legs and bumped against her calves.  Vinny sat down heavily. Then she put her feet up. Kevin’s arms snaked out of somewhere and pulled a blanket over her.

 

“ ‘ank oo,” Vinny mumbled.

 

She was asleep before Jayce returned.

 

She was vaguely aware of Kogan coming home and Jayce updating him on what was going on.

 

“Is she passed out, or just asleep?”

 

“Well, I was asleep, Kogan.”

 

“That’s fine.  Go back to sleep, Vinny.”

 

That was fairly easy, she hadn’t actually opened her eyes to comment.  Sometime later, she was carried up the stairs. Someone carefully cleaned off her makeup using her wipes, and tucked her into her bed.  She slept some more before Kogan got her up to change out of her costume and drink some water. At which point she really had to pee, then she was awake anyway, so she had a shower and washed her hair.  Then she refilled her cup from the sink and drank some more water.

 

She came out to find Kogan, Derick and Kevin sitting on her bed.  She blinked at them, feeling fairly confused.

 

Kogan nodded at her, “You are sleeping with us tonight, little girl.”

 

Vinny frowned a little.  

 

“Kogan has the biggest bed and we are all worried.”

 

Vinny considered that.  “I’m not actually sober yet.”

 

“I know darlin’ that’s why it’s just sleep,” Kogan assured her.

  
  



	26. Chapter 26

Vinny woke up with a headache, but a clear memory of the night before.  She sat up and tried to crawl out of bed, but Kogan grabbed her around the middle and hauled her back and against him.  “I need to check on Jenn.” That didn’t work. “And I need to pee.” The orc was grudgingly willing to let her get up for that.

 

Vinny peed first, then went hunting for her phone.  It wasn’t in her room or her purse. She was starting to panic when she decided to look for it downstairs in her coat.  As she hurried down the stairs she found it sitting on a side table that was Kevin. She was not necessarily getting better at recognizing him, but she had memorized the furniture and could spot him that way.

 

She picked it up.  “Thank you.”

 

“It fell out of your pocket when you passed out last night,” he whispered.

 

Vinny wondered about that for a moment, then realized he was probably expecting her to have a bigger hangover this morning.  Kevin shifted into a chair, “You look like you are ready to fall over,” he observed.

 

Vinny sat.  She sent a snap captioned “are you still alive?” to Jenn.

 

The one she got back showed Jenn trying to look coy.  One finger on her cheek and her eyes rolled towards heaven,  It said, “Think Kogan could get that guy’s number?”

 

Vinny chuckled. “Yeah.  I think he likes you,” was sent with a picture of her rolling her eyes.

 

“Good.  I need some orc loving.  I don’t know how you live in that house with all those guys and don’t burn out your vibe.”

 

Vinny blushed and ignored that one.

 

“Can I take you back to bed now?” Kevin said softly.

 

Vinny stood up, then sat right back down and said, “That would be nice.”  It was weird sitting on a chair as the legs walked into Kogan’s room. He and Derick were sitting up in bed.

 

Kogan looked at her and crossed his arms.  “You are supposed to be sleeping it off.”

 

Vinny nodded, “I didn’t drink that much and I had water when I got home.  But I am hungry.”

 

Derick stood up, “I’ll go get food.  You let Kogan take care of you.”

 

There was something in how he said it that gave Vinny pause.  When she looked at him, he was trying not to smile. Kogan, meanwhile had his poker face on.

 

Vinny narrowed her eyes, “What are you two up to?”

 

“You worked really hard at midterm,” Derick pointed out.

 

“I’m really proud of you.” Kogan explained.  “And you were such a good girl letting Jayce take care of you last night.  I just want some time to take care of my good girl too.”

 

“I would like that, Kogan.”  Vinny’s body absolutely responded to that.  Her nipples crinkled and pussy clenched hard enough for her to shift uneasily in her chair.

 

Uneasily on Kevin.

 

Oh god.

 

By the time she went to stand up, Derick was there with one hand on each of the chair arms boxing her in.  He kissed her slow and sweet and she was definitely wet by the time he was done. “That was nice,” she murmured.

 

“I’m going to go get some food,” he explained,  “but if you just sit here and let Kevin warm you up, then maybe after Kogan has a turn, you would be open enough to take my knot.”

 

Vinny whimpered and gave him a pleading looking.  Derick cupped her breast through her thin nightshirt and scrubbed his thumb over her nipple before pinching it hard enough to made her gasp.

 

She had no idea what to say to that.

 

Kevin however did.

 

“That’s not fair.  She didn’t ask for this.  I’m not going to take advantage-”

 

Derick backed off.  Vinny stood up and took off her panties, bending forward to point her ass at Kevin as she folded in half.  She stepped out of them and handed them to Derick, who was grinning.

 

“Kevin, you get to say no too.”

 

There was a long moment of silence.  “Everyone keeps talking about tasting you, can I try?”

 

Vinny blushed hard at that, but she nodded.  Kevin put his hands on her hips and the classic huge mimic tongue slurped across her sex making her jump.

 

Kevin groaned.  “Someday, I would like you to sit on me at dinner and just let me eat you as you pretend nothing is happening.”

 

That made Vinny groan softly, “I would like that.”

 

Derick nodded.  “How about I made breakfast and we give that a try?”

 

Vinny closed her eyes and nodded.

 

Kogan shifted, reposition the blankets.  “That sounds like fun, but I need a moment before I am ready to come down for breakfast.”

 

Vinny was aware of the bulge under the blanket.  “Kevin? Why don’t you and Derick head down there and we’ll be along in a moment?”

 

Derick sniffed and grinned, before clapping Kevin on his chair back and saying, “Come on.”

 

Vinny crawled over the bed to get to Kogan.  “You were saying?”

 

He was watching her, pupils blown wide.  As the door clicked shut he said, “You are such a good girl for letting Jayce help you, but I still want to spank your ass for not watching your drink.”

 

Vinny stared at him with wide eyes.  That should not have been as hot as it was.  She nodded slowly. “Just… don’t hurt me too much, Kogan,” she said softly as she lay herself over his lap.

 

“You are still my good girl,” he said as he rubbed her backside through her night shirt.  “I’m just going to use my hand, not my belt. I still want you to be able to sit nice for breakfast later, Understand?”

 

“Yes, Kogan,” Vinny said dutifully.

 

“Now,” he said, “I’m going to spank you as you count until you say you are sorry.  Are you sorry Vinny?”

 

“Not yet,” she muttered.

 

Kogan smirked, “That’s ok.  You will be.”

 

The first one made her jump, she gasped and was surprised to feel her calves tense, her toes start to curl and her slit got decidedly wetter.

 

She lay there, breathing faster than she had be trying to process that.

 

“Vinny?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Are you sorry yet, little girl?”

 

She had already forgotten the game they were playing.  “No!” she snorted, trying to fake petulance.

 

“Then you need to count for me baby girl.”

 

“One,” she said obediently. “Why do I have to count?” The next one came as she was asking.  Kogan struck the exact same spot that was already tender. That made her yelp. “Two!” she blurted out.

 

Kogan chuckled, “So I know you are still there and not hiding in your head.  Plus, however much I spank you this time tells me what you can take next time you are a bad girl.”  

 

Vinny felt her face go red at that.  The third one was to her other cheek, “Three!  Kogan, I want to be your good girl.”

 

“I know, darling.  Are you sorry yet?”

 

She barely got out the “N-” when the fourth landed.  She jumped. It stung, but she realized he wasn’t trying to hurt her.  “Four,” she announced.

 

Kogan flipped up her night shirt to inspect the damage,  “Ooh, you are getting red, little girl.” He rubbed each of her now red cheeks, then slid his hand between them.  “You are getting sloppy.”

 

“Are you going to put your fingers in me, Kogan?”

 

He snorted, “Oh, I am going to make my good girl feel so nice.  Are you sorry yet?”

 

“Not really.”  The next one made an audible crack as his skin struck hers.  “Five,” she almost smirked.

 

“Oh, it’s like that is it?” he teased.  Now he slid his finger into her, swirling it around for a moment before dragging a trail of slick up to her pucker and rubbing that.  Vinny went very still. Kogan was very gentle. Which is why she didn’t expect the next slap. She gasped and wiggled uncontrollably.

 

Kogan immediately went back to gently rubbing her ass, “Vinny?  Are you sorry?”

 

She gasped, “Not quite yet, but I’m getting closer.”

 

Kogan snorted at that one.  “We talked about getting you some jewelry for here,” he reminded her, gently stroking her hole.  “Are you ready to try that?”

 

Vinny pushed up onto her elbows to look at him, “Are you done making me feel sorry, then?”

 

Kogan actually laughed at that one.  “Not until you are. It’s just that your ass is such a pretty pink colour.  I would love to see some sparkle in there too.”

 

Vinny chewed her lip as she thought about it.  Kogan’s hand felt really nice as he was petting her, she was so much more aware of his touch.  She trusted him not to hurt her. She pushed herself back so she was kneeling next to him. In her best little girl voice she asked, “You gonna make me pretty?”

 

Kogan groaned, “I am going to make you so pretty little girl.”

 

“OK.”

 

“Are you sure?  You can always change your mind if you don’t like it.”

 

“I’ll give it a try.”

 

Kogan crawled out of bed and the sight of his cock, standing proud and weeping nearly made her want to just cut to the chase.  But Kogan was very good at this game they were playing. He knew exactly what to do to wring the maximum amount of pleasure out of her.  He was intense. She couldn’t do this sort of thing everyday, but in terms of stress management, he was her favourite.

 

He came back with a brand new pump bottle of lube and a small plug with a light green jewel on the end.  

 

“That doesn’t look too scary,” Vinny observed.

 

Kogan chuckled, “It will take a while to work up to the scary looking one, sweetheart.  But if you do, you could make Tristan a very happy man.”

 

Kogan climbed back into bed.  “As you were, baby girl.” Vinny lay back down over Kogan’s lap.  “This will feel a little cold.”

 

The lube was cold when it hit her skin, but it warmed up quickly as Kogan rubbed it over her hole.  “You are doing so good, letting me play. Such a good girl for me. You just relax, good girl and I’ll take care of you.”

 

As he spoke Kogan gently increased the pressure and the next thing Vinny knew he had his finger in her ass.  She instinctively clenched. Kogan chuckled. He rubbed her back with his other hand. “That’s as bad as it is going to get, darling.  I’m not going to move or doing anything else until you relax some more.” Vinny took a couple of deep breaths and concentrated on letting her whole body melt.  “There’s my good girl!”he said as he started to pump his finger in and out. “This is a small plug, it won’t feel that much different than my finger. Well, smoother and a little colder for a moment.”

 

He pumped some more lube on to her were his finger was working.  “Do you want me to tell you when I change or should I just do it?”

 

“Just do it, Kogan.  If I think about it too much I’ll get nervous.”  Vinny was expecting him to change over right a way.  Instead he passed her the plug to hold. Then he squirted on some lube that was a lot thicker than Vinny was expecting.

 

“Ok, count backward from 100, by 3s.”  

 

On eighty-seven, Kogan slipped out his finger and slid in the plug so slick Vinny barely even noticed.  Kogan leaned to the side and pulled out a box of baby wipes to clean the lube off his hands. “Right!” he said firmly.  “Now, where were we? Are you ready to say sorry yet?”

 

It took Vinny a moment to remember what he was talking about.  Then she wiggled in his lap, “I’m not sorry, but I do want your dick now.”

 

Kogan gave each of her cheeks a couple of quick slaps each, enough to make her squeal and get all warm and wiggly.  Then as he stroked her, he said softly, “As much as I like playing this game, I’m little bit serious Vinny. Little girls shouldn’t take candy from strangers.  And hot college students shouldn’t take drinks from anyone who isn’t the waitstaff.”

 

Vinny sat up, “They weren’t strangers.  One was in my philosophy class, the one who owned up to it was in math with Jenn.”

 

Kogan lifted her up like it was nothing and pulled her close, “I need you to be safe, Vinny.  I can’t… if anything happened to you… I just…”

 

Vinny nodded into his chest.  “I know.

  
  



	27. Chapter 27

Kogan had been edging her for long enough that Vinny was nearly ready to cry when Derick came in with brunch.  Kogan took the tray from him and had a bite of the toast. From around his mouthful he mumbled, “I think she’s ready for you now.”

 

Vinny groaned, “Kogan, I kinda hate you just now.”

 

“Aw, I know, bebe.  You just get on your hands and knees and show Derick your new jewelry.”  

 

Derick had been half hard from the smells alone.  Seeing Vinny’s rosey red ass and the sparkly green plug nearly did him in.  “Hey,” he said stroking her back.

 

Vinny whimpered,  “Please!”

 

“Use all your words, like a good girl,” Kogan instructed, between reaching for another piece of toast.

 

“Derick, I want your cock.  Now, please.”

 

Derick looked between them in shock.

 

Kogan snorted, “I’ve got her aching by now, you might want to hurry it along a bit.”

 

“Yes, please,” Vinny whined her agreement waving her ass at him.

 

“Uh, we haven’t um…”

 

“Here’s a condom,” Kogan added tossing Derick a box.  Derick caught it reflexively. He hesitated.

 

“Or, if you aren’t up to it, I can play with her some more until Tristan comes to see why she’s screaming.”

 

Vinny jumped at the sound of the vibe being snapped back on, “No!”

 

Derick started to growl, “Is that a real no?”

 

“I just want to cum,” Vinny cried.  “Kogan won’t let me. Fuck! I should just go back to my room and take care of it myself.”  

 

Derick caught her as she stood up on wobbly legs.  “Hey, I got you. I just want to know you are ok. We’ve been making do with hands and mouths, but this is a lot-” he stopped before he said bigger.  It was technically true, it just seemed crass to go there. He settled on “more complicated.”

 

Vinny leaned into the hug and unbuttoned his jeans.  “I like playing with you, Derick, but sometimes I just want penetrative sex.”

 

Derick kissed her lips so sweetly, Vinny’s knees went weak.  “OK, but… not like that.” He kept kissing her as he walked her back to Kogan’s bed.  When she was on her back, Derick pulled off his shirt. He slid her hips to the edge of the mattress and held her legs open.  Sure enough, her sex was red and weeping. “Are you sure?” he asked.

 

Vinny nodded.  Derick leaned forward to kiss just below her belly ring as he snaked out of his pants.  When he fumbled to open the condom box, Vinny sat up and took it from him. She gave his cock a couple of strokes, tugging it gently before the condom down his length.

 

Derick kissed her and lowered her back to the mattress before he slid in, groaning.  Vinny gasped. 

 

Kogan grinned and set down his orange juice.  “Feels different with the plug, doesn’t it, darling?”

 

She nodded.  Derick started to rock. Vinny started writhing almost immediately. After a moment, he took hold of her hips and stood up, lifting her ass off the bed.  She came hard, clenching tightly around Derick’s cock and the plug. Derick started to growl. She had never heard him do that before. He tightened his grip on her hips and started slamming harder, his hips erratic.

 

Kogan stepped in and lifted one of Vinny’s legs, changing the angle a bit.  Vinny came again, flailing in Derick’s grasp. Derick’s teeth were definitely sharper looking than they had been.  He gave one last push, deep enough that Vinny cried out, he howled as he came, knot swelling.

 

Kogan once again adjusting Vinny’s legs so that Derick’s knot slipped out of her.  The werewolf snarled at Kogan in disgust.

 

“Easy there, cowboy.  She’s just a little girl.”

 

Derick whimpered and carefully set Vinny back down on the bed.  His dick came free as he leaned forward to pepper her face with kisses.  Vinny yawned and stretched before rolling on to her side. When Derick went to dispose of the condom, Kogan pushed her knees up to her chest.

 

“OK darling.  This is gonna feel like you are taking a shit, but it’s just the plug coming out.  Don’t push, just relax.”

 

It hurt a little as her hole stretched to let the widest part out.  When she whimpered, Derick shoved Kogan out of the way to come spoon her.  That was weird. Derick was about four inches shorter and much more slender than Kogan was.  Physics shouldn’t work that way.

 

Derick was warm and snuggly, and Vinny was tired.  It only took a moment for her to fall asleep in Derick’s arms.

 

\----

 

Eventually, Derick rubbed Vinny’s back.  “However much I would like to stay in bed and play with you, I can smell pancakes and you have a brunch to sit through.”  He helped her pull her nightgown back on and down over her slightly bruised ass. He had also left fingerprint shaped bruises on her hips.  He was decidedly uncomfortable about that. “Come on.”

 

Kogan stopped to brush his teeth.  Vinny carefully padded down the stairs on her own.  When she got to the dining room she hesitated at seeing Kevin sitting patiently in her spot as a chair  Tristan was smirking at his plate. Dren was reading the Saturday morning paper. Derick started helping himself to bacon.  Thea and Bazur weren’t down yet.

 

Vinny reminded herself about how nicely Kevin had taken care of her last night.  She pulled him carefully away from the table, flipping the hem of her night shirt out of the way as she sat on the shadowy black seat.  Kevin slid her closer to the table.

 

Derick passed her the bacon.

 

Something caressed her calves under the table.  When she opened her legs a little, it stroked the insides of her thighs.

 

Vinny felt a tentacle like tongue begin exploring.  She jumped slightly as he found her ass relaxed and soft and gave her pucker a gentle prod.  Derick passed her the pancakes.

 

Kevin’s tongue was sweeping over her folds and lapping at the wetness he found there.  Vinny concentrated on buttering her pancake.

Something pinched the tender spots on her ass where Kogan had been playing earlier.  Vinny froze and stared at her plate.

 

“Something wrong with the pancakes, Vinny?” Tristan teased.  Dren looked up and watched them.

 

“I just need someone to pass the syrup,” she managed to keep her voice even, but it was a struggle.  Dren passed her the syrup. She said thank you. 

 

He said, “You’re welcome, Vinny,” but he narrowed his eyes at her.

 

Vinny’s hips bucked as Kevin found her clit and gave it a suck.  Her face flushed red and she tried a bite of bacon.

 

“Just don’t choke,” Dren advised, going back to his paper.

 

“Which one are you warning?” Tristan rumbled under his breath.

 

Vinny was down to the part where she was just concentrating on holding very still and breathing.

 

That was when Thea came into the room.

 

“Oh no!  Vinny! Be careful!  That’s Kevin!”

 

Everything screeched to a halt.  Everyone in the room turned to look at him.

 

Except for Kevin who used the silence to give Vinny a huge wet noisy slurp that made her eyes roll back.

 

“Oh.” Thea said awkwardly.  “Um! Do you need us to um… give you some privacy?”

 

Derick snickered.  “Come on over Thea, have some breakfast.  Just ignore them.”

 

Thea came and sat but didn’t ignore them.  He watched Vinny’s face. “Kevin isn’t actually as good at that as Derick is.”

 

Derick grinned, Tristan frowned, Kevin tried harder.

 

“Why do you say that, Thea?” Dren asked.

 

Thea poured syrup on his pancakes as he said, “Because she usually makes little grunting sounds.”

 

“Oh god!” Vinny cried.  They all turned to her. She covered her face.  “That is just… How is this even a real thing? Everyone just calmly sitting here commenting on my sounds?”

 

Kogan was leaning in the doorway.  “Gentleman, stand up for inspection!” he announced.  

 

Derick and Tristan both stood up to reveal some fairly painful looking tenting.  Kevin figured out how to get Vinny to start making the little grunting noises. 

 

“I think the answer to that question is strength of will,” Kogan answered as he walked over and cupped her chin, “Vinny?  Kevin can’t get you pregnant and he is clean. Can he cum in you or on you?”

 

Vinny closed her eyes and whimpered.

 

“You have to answer me, little girl.”

 

“YES!”

 

“Either way, can I help clean up?” Dren asked.

 

That was all it took for Vinny’s whole body to jerk, and the next thing she knew she was cumming so hard her legs were shaking.  Kevin lifted her off of him and tipped her over the table as his tentacle made a puddle on the floor. Derick came over to rub her exposed back.  

 

And of course that was when Bazur came in like the house mom.  He looked at them all and sighed. Vinny blushed and hurried to pull her nightie down.

 

“Just… not near the food, guys.”  Everyone, even Kogan managed to look embarrassed as they chorused a round of apologies.  He tsked as he sat down, “Do you have a plan, Vinny? Or are you just making this up as you go?”

 

“Um… no plan, nope.”

 

“May I make a suggestion?” Bazur asked.

 

“Sure?” she hazzard. 

 

“Well,” he explained, “if I was running this orgy, I would take Kogan and Kevin upstairs for doggy style while bent over the mimic.  He could probably make a set of stocks if you were up for that. Then have a breakfast in bed followed by a shower with Dren. After that,  I would hit Thea up for some suspension so that Tristan can have a turn. At which point you will need a nap and some food. If you have lust left after that,  Derick can certainly finish you off.” Bazur said this whole thing like he was dictating the grocery list. “Of course, you don’t have to do any of that.”

 

“I already got a turn,” Derick admitted.  “But I would be happy with a second. Or being able to watch.”

 

Thea nodded enthusiastically at that last suggestion.

 

Vinny wanted to think about that.  Her legs were shaking so she sat down on her chair, which was still Kevin.  There was a wet squish as she found the warm dampness on the seat.

 

“Ugh.”  They all just looked at her nervously at that.  “Definitely a shower and food. Then… we’ll see.”  Vinny considered moving to another chair, but she would need a drop cloth.  Part of her wanted to run for the shower, but the reality was she might need some help up the stairs just now.  And she was still really hungry. She became aware that Kevin was snoring softly. “Screw it. I’m eating my pancakes.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost a whole week late. BUT! Thrown to the Wolves is just waiting for an ISBN to be assigned and it will be available for both Kindle and Kobo!
> 
> I am SO excited guys!

**Author's Note:**

> Comment if you can.


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